Moulage in healthcare simulation must certainly be celebrated on Halloween each year! Healthcare simulation moulage involves the application of simulated illnesses, odors, or wounds on a manikin or standardized patient to better train clinical professionals. Healthcare simulation professionals have found ways to make moulage “scarily” realistic today. At the expert level, moulage can be used along with props to mirror realism in patient scenarios. Simulated injuries and symptoms can also be implemented by novice simulationists using moulage recipes, or techniques to replicate commonly seen illnesses, infections, and traumatic injuries. This HealthySimulation.com article shares examples of healthcare simulation moulage by novice undergraduate healthcare simulation operations specialists students.
Novice Healthcare Sim Ops Specialists Students
At the University of South Florida, a collaboration between the College of Public Health and the Center for Medical Simulation and Learning (CAMLS) has developed an undergraduate specialty track with a focus on simulation operations specialists. The program offers students the opportunity to learn about the Sim Ops role and have the opportunity for experiential learning opportunities to practice skills learned in the didactic portion of the course.
The students received a one-hour lecture on moulage with techniques, videos, recipes, and online resources for effective moulage techniques. After the lecture, the students were provided a hands-on learning experience for 1.5 hours. This article will look at some of the moulage wounds developed by novice learners with the supervision of a simulation educator and sim ops facilitator.
View the HealthySimulation.com CE course TraumaSIM’s Introduction to Moulage Course & Kit to learn more!
Moulage Resources
Most of the time, visual representations of images to be replicated are extremely valuable. There are several strategies to accomplish this. One of these is through an internet search for images. Another resource is the Moulage Concepts Photo Gallery.
Moulage Videos
In this Moulage Training Video, an experienced Fireman and EMT demonstrates some moulage techniques as he is training another EMT person to create moulage.
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This Moulage 101 video, Mad Simulationist’s Lab #5: Moulage 101 by Center for Medical Simulation, demonstrates a few techniques on how to create quick techniques to create basic moulage for simulation with tegaderm use.
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This video is a webinar by Nasco that demonstrates their moulage kits available for purchase. The kits reviewed and demonstrated are Ultra Nursing Wound Simulation Kit, Advanced Military Casualty Kit, Moulage Kit, Forensic Wound Simulation Training Kit, Neonatal Wound Kit, and Burn Simulation Kit.
Moulage Supplies
Moulage supplies were purchased through healthcare simulation vendors and local discount store purchases. A great time to purchase moulage supplies is immediately after Halloween from Halloween stores that will close after the holiday. These are usually marked down for purchase. This is also a great place to purchase wigs for healthcare simulation. Supplies included:
Discount Retail and Halloween Store Purchases
- Tabletop covers
- Make-up, foundation and face powders
- Make-up sponges
- Colored children’s modeling compound
- 16-ounce cups
- Arts and crafts paint brushes, paint trays, and spatulas
- Gorilla Snot Hair Gel (for color and consistency)
- Effervescence tablets (for active bubbling action)
- Washable markers
- Fake blood
- Instant Coffee, instant grits, creamy canned soup, canned mixed fruits, canned fish, and strawberry jam
- Potting soil
- Gravel and rocks
- Flour
- Cotton balls, cotton-tip applicators, and isopropyl alcohol
- Scar Wax
- Liquid latex
- Hand sanitizers
- Hand wipes
- Paper towels
- Chlorine wipes
- Combs (textured abrasions)
- Petroleum jelly
Medical Vendor Purchases
- Bill Nye make-up
- Medicine cups
- Fake blood
- Syringes
- Moulage Kits
- Blue absorbent pads
- Sponges from CVL kits (repurposed)
- Opsites/Tegaderms (small and large)
- Alcohol pads
- Casualty Simulation Wax/Scar Wax
- Liquid latex
- Scar overlays
- Manikin skins
- Coban Dressing, Kerlix, and gauze pads
- Tongue Depressors
Moulage Examples
The students were instructed to obtain an image or have their electronic devices available during the class to guide them during the creation of their moulage. The students were able to create realistic moulage to improve realism in a clinical simulation scenario using the supplies listed above. The most important aspect for realistic healthcare moulage is to practice. Moulage skills develop over time and improve as the simulation operations specialist practices techniques. Here are a few examples of the images created.
View the HealthySimulation.com Webinar Moulage Realism: Telling Patient Stories That Look, Feel, and Smell Like the Real Thing! to learn more!
More About Moulage
Moulage is a unique technique within the field of Healthcare Simulation that pairs artistry with medical accuracy so that healthcare learners can have the highest level of realism when treating simulated patients. Moulage can help learners suspend their imaginations and experience the vast array of emotions that can come with providing emergency care while practicing how to exert calm and confidence and maintain control of any medical scenario. Simulated injuries made possible by Moulage can provide added value to training sessions for emergency response teams, military personnel, and healthcare learner programs. Healthcare professionals who focus on education and training via Clinical Simulation methodologies should be familiar with various Moulage concepts and techniques and how they can elevate any learning experience.
The level of realism presented by Moulage products is shocking, but is necessary to train Healthcare Simulation learners about what to expect in real-life situations. For example, when a person first sees a painful, distracting injury on another human being, their response can be one of dread, anxiety, or fear. However, through repeated exposures to injuries or patient presentations, Medical Simulation with Moulage can make jarring injuries less startling when encountered in real clinical scenarios.
Moulage kits for healthcare simulation can be purchased or built to increase the efficiency of moulage application. Moulage kits are like tool-kits healthcare simulation technology specialists and other healthcare educators use to hold molding equipment, moulage recipes, makeup applicators, as well as adhesive, and other cleaning supplies. If you are planning on taking the craft seriously, you will definitely want to purchase and build a moulage kit.
Learn More About Healthcare Moulage Resources, Kits, and Recipes!
