We’re excited to share that UCRH has recently welcomed a new member to our Simulation Centre. Geri-Anne, is a high-fidelity aged care patient simulator that we purchased thanks to a grant from the University of Sydney’s Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost’s Capital Equipment and Contingency Fund.
Geri-Anne is an investment in cutting-edge equipment to support allied health students on rural placements across the Northern Rivers. Geri-Anne is a full-body, modular manikin designed for simulating geriatric patient care scenarios.
Why did we need Geri-Anne? For many of our students, aged care placements are their first real experience working with older adults. We want to make sure they feel confident and capable before they step into residential aged care homes, hospitals, or community health settings. Geri-Anne helps us do just that. She’s lifelike, responsive, and designed to simulate complex aged care scenarios, including stroke presentations using a realistic facial overlay.
Geri-Anne comes with a range of features that make her incredibly realistic and versatile for training. She includes aged skin on the hands, arms, feet, front and back, aged teeth, and both male and female genitalia for inclusive clinical scenarios. Her cataract and pupils help simulate common age-related eye conditions, and her grey hair wig adds to the authenticity. These details allow students to practise recognising and responding to the physical signs of ageing in a safe, supportive environment.
This new equipment will be used in tutorials, assessments, and interprofessional training sessions for students across disciplines like physiotherapy, speech pathology, occupational therapy, nutrition and dietetics, social work, and more. We’ll also be using it for professional development with local clinicians, helping build skills and confidence in a region where aged care services are more important than ever.
Our Clinical Educators are putting Geri-Anne through her paces in training now, so they can familiarise themselves with all her capabilities and consider how best to incorporate her in tutorials and simulation activities with students. She’ll soon be featured in our Wednesday Multidisciplinary Education Program and other learning activities at UCRH.
This investment supports our broader work in the RHMT Aged Care Expansion program of placements in rural residential aged care homes by extending student learning opportunities while on placement in the region. Geri-Anne will help us create meaningful, innovative placement experiences that prepare students for the realities of aged care, and hopefully inspire more of them to pursue careers in this vital sector.
We’re proud to be leading the way in rural health education, and we’re grateful to FMH for supporting us in this journey.
