Edinburgh Napier University

Meet the team

Our centre has a dedicated team on hand to help you perfect your skills and to answer any questions you may have. Our teaching associates who work between clinical practice and the university are always on hand to help you brush up on your skills. Our technical team includes experts in simulation technology and experienced medical makeup artists who, where appropriate, will design and create various realistic wounds and lacerations on mannequins and simulated patients to make your learning as lifelike as possible. Both teams work together to create authentic  scenarios and simulated environments to maximise your learning potential. As a team we're dedicated to supporting you so you can have a student experience which will give you confidence and prepare you as fully as possible for practice.

Our simulated patients will give you the most realistic preparation of ward life

We have simulated patients who volunteer with us and  give you the chance to practise skills on new people with  different backgrounds, so you can learn how to use your  techniques on members of the public beyond your  classmates. 

In your second and third years you will regularly spend class time with simulated patients, learning how to combine the communication and compassionate care skills we teach you with the practical requirements of treating patients such as taking blood pressure and administering controlled drugs. 

A critical care unit with adjoining technology control room

• The room can replicate critical care environment with all accessories available to simulate patient care in a critical care facility
• The control room enables technicians to control the response of the high fidelity mannequins such as SimMan3G to the care being delivered. Vital signs such as heart rate, rhythm, respiratory rate and all clinical observations can be controlled, altered and adjusted.
• Our ventilation system Draeger Infinity V500 for Adults/Paeds/Neonates is also available. 

An accident and emergency bay

• The accident and emergency bay includes a 4-bedded trolley area which can simulate an emergency care setting.
• Trauma mannequins simulating emergency injuries are also provided.

Three clinical wards

• One 6-bedded ward
• Two 4-bedded wards
• All ward areas can be adapted to switch between adult or children's wards. 

A scrub room

• Stainless steel scrub sinks

A neo-natal room

• This room includes a viewing platform with a two-way mirror so technicians can control a simulated baby's response. Various equipment and mannequins are available from incubators, resuscitaires to ventilator.

Simulated home environment 

• Our Simulated Home Environment for Learning Teaching and Research (SHELTeR) functions as a community home used in line with health and social care integration. 
• Dementia and disability-friendly requirements include adjustable lighting, a simulated ageing suit, built in kitchen and bathroom, wet room, bedroom. The room can be adapted for any  home environment. 

Technical team

Our technical team can advise on the most suitable setting for your project and assist with the use of our specialist equipment. They are also experienced medical makeup artists and can create realistic injuries including wounds, lacerations, burns and bruising.

All of our rooms are versatile and can be set up to recreate other environments including a birthing suite, outpatient department, community setting, GP surgery and theatre recovery room. We also have a large locker room, changing facilities and reception area and nurses station.

How do we take you from novice to qualified professional in 3 years?

First year

Your journey in the Simulation and Clinical Skills Centre will begin in the first two weeks of your programme, preparing you for your first steps into clinical practice as a student. Initially you will focus on the essentials of hand hygiene, basic CPR and manual handling. You will learn basic techniques that you can perfect in the safety of the centre and will focus on skills which involve obtaining and recording patient observations. These will include taking blood pressures, temperatures and administering medicines.

Second year

Over the next two years we will take you from these simple observations to teaching you to do more thorough assessments of patients, and teach you how to manage more complex scenarios. You will move away from using our smaller pieces of equipment such as simulated mannequin arms, onto our specialised mannequins and using our bank of simulated patients.

Student midwives will have the unique opportunity to benefit from practicing with Noelle, our electronic mannequin that simulates childbirth, as well as our mobile birthing pool, giving you the opportunity to practice the practical aspects of labour in a safe environment.

Third year

Third year is all about preparing you to take your first steps as a qualified practitioner. You will learn how to deal with complex scenarios including how to manage decision-making, prioritising, team-work and delegating. Simulated patients will be used more frequently to challenge your skills and build your confidence in applying your theory to practice. This way, when you're on your first day in your new job, you're ready to hit the ground running.

Here are just some of the skills we will teach you as an undergraduate: