How a new training mannequin teaches empathy for fire and EMS students

    PEWAUKEE, Wisconsin (WTMJ) -- A new training tool comes to WCTC to help first responders better prepare for different emergencies. The mannequins look and feel real, right down to breathing and bleeding for training.

It is intubation training at Waukesha County Technical College and the difference between the old training mannequins and the new ones is pretty extreme.

“I feel like a lot of people kind of gasp in kind of way. It is kind of the same reaction you get when you walk into a real scene,” said Marqus Jackson, a paramedic student at WCTC.

Marqus would know. He spent three years as an EMT in Milwaukee before he decided to go back to school to become a paramedic.

“Everything from the skin to the eyelashes to the hair is all completely different from the old mannequin,” said Marqus.

The mannequin can breathe, bleed, vomit, and even emulate a drowning victim. WCTC got a grant from the Generac Foundation to buy 13 "Lifecast Body Simulation Manikins" for different ages, races, and special needs.

“In a Down Syndrome patient, their jaw is a little further forward. They have a smaller mouth and a more difficult airway to access. So for our students, it is a more difficult intubation that they can practice on,” said Courtney Hull, the associate dean of the Fire/EMS training program.

While it is easy to see how real the mannequin looks, what surprises students even more is how real they feel. Some of the WCTC staff members ended up holding the baby mannequins like they were real babies while we were doing interviews.

WCTC says they wanted to get this latest technology because they are training the area fire responders.

“I’m looking around here and I’m seeing Hartland and Kettle Moraine,” said Rebecca Klopf, TMJ4 reporter as she read the back of student’s T-shirts.

“Western Lakes,” adds Courtney.

“These are your firefighters [and] paramedics?” asks Rebecca.

“Yes,” answered Courtney. “A majority of our students are already operating on an ambulance.”

“I’ve done it on a real patient, an actual live patient and it is very comparable to what these ones do,” said Isabelle Buhler, a paramedic student.

On top of it, instructors say having a lifelike mannequin helps teach empathy.

“It is a huge difference being able to relate and put yourself in that scenario and make it feel more real,” said Marqus.

The paramedic class will graduate in the summer and the students who are not already hired will likely become first responders in the area.