3-D Printing for Task Training & Simulations: A Collaborative Process between Nurses and Engineers

This paper presents the process of developing 3D printed task trainers and simulators for healthcare education. The process is a collaborative effort between the College of Nursing at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and the UAH Systems Management and Production Center. The three year collaboration led to development of a five-phase feedback and development process which is continually refined and now used for the development of all 3D printed training simulations in the interprofessional center. The first phase consists of nursing faculty and center engineers conducting a needs assessment. The output of this phase is a prioritized list of potential simulations. The second phase consists of a team of engineering students developing the 3D training simulation. The third phase is evaluating the simulation. A number of iterations are generally necessary to have a simulation that satisfied nursing requirements. The nursing faculty is actively involved throughout the process to assure the desired characteristics and fullest medical design to include texture, elasticity, density, strength, color and realism. The fourth phase is implementing the simulation into the program. The fifth phase is to document and evaluate the process. During the past several years a number of 3-D products have been developed and are now implemented. As an example, a 3D printed brain with multiple sclerosis (MS) is discussed in this paper. The 3D printed brain is being used to assist nurses better understand and more easily visualize lesions in MS patients. The 3D printed trainers are being used to provide nursing students with much needed hands-on experiences, to allow students to practice specific skills at a lower cost and to gain these skills in a safe setting. Included in this paper are a description of the process used to develop the training simulators, the use of simulators in nurse training the results and benefits.