A concerned group of simulation champions have created a new organization to help ensure that medical supplies designated for use in simulation are not accidentally used in patient care. The website provides FREE warning templates or allows you to order some pre-made stickers for your simulation lab. HealthySim applauds this new groups innovation and concern for this very real issue! Some years ago patients were given simulated IV bags which caused numerous illnesses which you can read about here.
About the Warning Label Stickers
Standardized “Not for human use / education only” labels have been designed in three sizes to be affixed to all simulation equipment, supplies, and medications. They can be purchased here as self-stick laminated labels in rolls of 250 for the printing cost plus shipping and a handling fee. Alternatively, templates for printing your own labels on Avery adhesive label sheets can be downloaded (note – they will not be waterproof unless you laminate them).
About the Healthcare Simulation Safety Project
“The spread of simulation throughout the healthcare world has been a wonderful technique to improve education, teamwork, and patient safety. Thousands of programs around the world are actively innovating every day to deliver high quality simulation sessions in a variety of settings with a wide array of educational goals. Promoting this evolution must not stop, as the aspirations and achievements are truly remarkable. However, there are dangers lurking.
As with anything new, unanticipated and subtle hazards exist and can be difficult to manage. In healthcare simulation we are introducing programs with its array of real and simulated equipment, supplies, and medications. We also bring a certain degree of deception, asking people to act as if things that are not real are true and things that are real are not. All of these introductions are into a healthcare world that has its own difficulties maintaining a safe and error free environment. The chance that this new world of simulation will lead to an accidental misuse of some simulated entity on a real patient or healthcare worker is real and worrisome.
On this website, we will try to present accidents and “near misses” from healthcare simulation that come to our attention. We will try to use the collective wisdom of the field to present best practices and mitigation strategies to help the simulation community reduce the potential for harm. Working together we hope to make the chance of a simulation related injury vanishing small. label The Foundation for Healthcare Simulation Safety has applied for 501-C3 not-for-profit status, as it has been established solely to promote education and safe practices for healthcare simulation programs.”
