TSTC Nursing students meet newest ‘patient’

(SWEETWATER, Texas) - His name is HAL.

Pediatric HAL S2225, the newest medical manikin in Texas State Technical College's LVN to RN Transition Nursing Program, has several special features, including the ability to converse with students.

Students recently got to meet HAL and will begin training with him regularly this fall.

"It is unbelievable that they can make something like this," Destiny Adams, a first-semester student, said after watching HAL in action. "For his face to swell up, for him to cry and for him to talk back to you is amazing."

Adams said being able to train with HAL and the program's pregnant manikin, VICTORIA S2200, will help her prepare for clinicals.

"I will be able to learn a lot … before I go out in the real world," she said. "It is better to make mistakes in the lab than in the hospital."

Jayce Martinez, also a first-semester student, agreed.

"This will be good practice for every student," she said. "This will get us in the mindset that we are talking to someone."

Since HAL is a pediatric patient, Martinez said she noticed a trait many children have with nurses.

"We have to be prepared to talk to children who will not respond immediately," she said.

Lydia Onwonga noticed another of HAL's characteristics.

"Just like a real child, he started to show different feelings, like not wanting to be touched," she said.

The students were amazed that HAL can cry tears.

"When he started crying is when I realized that this was special," Faith Anola said. "It made me a little sad that he did not feel well."

According to Gaumard, the company thatdesigned and manufacturedthe manikin, HAL is capable of simulating lifelike emotions through facial expressions, movement and speech.

According to onetonline.org, registered nursing jobs were forecast to increase 17% in Texas between 2020 and 2030. The median annual salary for registered nurses in Texas is $85,110, the website showed.

TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Nursing at its Harlingen and Sweetwater campuses. A Vocational Nursing certificate of completion is offered at the Breckenridge, Harlingen and Sweetwater campuses.

Registration for TSTC's fall semester is underway. For more information, visit tstc.edu.

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