Training technology for doctors, nurses has come a long way

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - It’s the time of year again when trauma doctors see lots of injuries related to falls.

Whether it's a trip on the playground, or a more serious tumble from a window, emergency rooms see an uptick in the summer.

But as FOX 32’s Kristen Nicole reports, it's something they are constantly training for and how they do it, may surprise you.

Technology at Lurie Children's Hospital has come a long way in the last 20 years when doctors in the ER trained on simple plastic dummies. 

Mannequins, now, can cost tens of thousands of dollars. They can also talk and even respond to treatment.

“What we find is people really engage. You can ask the team, we were acting this and yet we were still nervous,” said Dr. Mark Adler.

Their case on Thursday involved a mannequin with its movements and reactions being manipulated by a simulation specialist.

“There is a lot of pieces of the information the mannequin is giving them both in response to interventions and also as time goes on within the case,” said Simulation Technologist Dan McNearney.

“Billy’s” pretend accident is a reality for a lot of toddlers this time of year.

“We see about 15 kids a year who fall from windows in the Chicago area who are less than 5 years of age,” said Dr. Karen Sheehan, of the Injury and Prevention Research Center.

That number, luckily, is down from more than 30 kids a year a decade ago.

“They think screens are protective, but screens are made to keep bugs out, not kids in,” Dr. Sheehan said.

Doctors know accidents happen, and education can keep those numbers low.

And rest assured, the team training they're doing at Lurie makes them more than ready to respond.

Dr. Sheehan recommends three easy ways to prevent a fall from a window: never open them more than 4 inches, open windows from the top down if possible, and move all furniture away.