Simulation Academy at Yale has begun for the school year 2024-25! We are off to a great start. The students were very excited to experience hands on training at our state-of-the-art Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation.
I really enjoy teaching the first lesson on the basics of the vascular system and how the heart functions as a pump with one-way valves. By compressing the heart between the sternum and vertebral bodies, we push blood out through the left ventricle of the heart. The resulting negative pressure during recoil helps refill the heart. Demonstrating this concept with a pump and one-way valve inside a skeleton helps students visualize how it works, which then makes it easier to apply when we practice CPR techniques—like hand placement, compression depth, and rate—in the lab
James Bonz, M.D.- Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation, Yale School of Medicine.