LAYTON—Moniqa Arnes makes manikins come alive. When she walks into the lab at the University of Utah College of Nursing, she’s surrounded by lifelike manikins of all sizes that can cry, turn blue and even give birth.

Arnes is a simulation operation specialist whose job is to create scenarios to train doctors and nurses for any situation they might encounter. “There are six advanced simulation rooms built to mimic what a hospital room looks like,” she said. “They check the vital signs of the manikins or actors to figure out what’s going on. They can do IVs, check blood pressure and give oxygen therapy. This helps teach them all of that.”

There are neonatal babies that are 34 weeks old all the way up to grown men, said Arnes. “Our manikins are preprogramed. I work with the doctors (instructors) on what they want them to do and put that together so they can come to life for the learner.”

Using a technique called moulage, Arnes creates different types of injuries to make the manikins look more real. “With a lot of different makeup and silicone I can do burns, gunshot wounds and take a leg off to make it look like they lost a leg.”

Arnes controls the manikins through WiFi. “I can make them do whatever I want to depending on what the manufacturer has designed it to do,” she said. “Manikins can cost between $50,000 to $100,000. The simulation lab industry is going toward running things in the background to focus on teaching.”

The lab also takes a lighthearted approach with the manikins. “We have a birth announcement for everyone to help name the manikin,” said Arnes. “We have Tony like Ironman. Babies Clara and Super Torrie. Their arms and legs all move, they cry and their eyes open and close. We have a 5-year-old boy whose eyes will track you when you move around the room. I’m telling him what to do. It makes it more lifelike.”

There are even manikins who can give birth, she said. “They probably push that baby through 50 times a day.”

Arnes also does a lot of training videos. “They can watch it before they come into class. They’ve got to train somehow,” she said. “They do injections, IVs, everything a nurse does. I’d rather they practice on a fake arm instead of my arm.” 

Before Arnes worked in the lab she was a corrections officer at the jail for 10 years. “It was time for a change,” she said. “My husband is in law enforcement too and my kids were getting older and needed me more. It’s a good change. The urine and blood I deal with now are not real. If I get a fake needle poke it’s my fault.”