CMU Health patient safety training goes high tech

​The patient safety training program for CMU Health's medical staff has gone high-tech and will incorporate the state-of-the-art medical simulation lab at the CMU College of Medicine's Saginaw campus.

The Partners in Patient Safety program's coursework is intended to continually refine the skills of medical staff to keep patients safe and properly cared for at every visit.

The interactive program, led by nurse Leah Rouleau, a professional educator at CMU College of Medicine, brings CMU Health nurses and medical assistants to the simulation center bimonthly to learn a variety of critical topics of everyday patient care, such as proper hand hygiene, patient privacy, medical and environmental clinic emergencies, basic life support, opioid misuse, and signs of human trafficking in patients.

Staff will complete their hands-on training with the manikins in a simulated medical environment, where it is safe to make mistakes and learn from them.

"Not only will these workshops improve safety and communication within our clinics, but they will help our staff continually develop skills as medical professionals," Rouleau said.

"The program is designed to empower medical staff to properly and independently deal with clinical issues and boost confidence through learning in a simulated environment."