![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/12\/image0.jpeg\")
(Courtesy photo)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Investing in the education of future nurses is deeply important to Pearl \u2013 she taught nursing at Youngstown State University, and then worked as a substitute school nurse for a few years into her retirement. All of Pearl and Floyd’s children are also connected to his alma mater \u2013 David Zehr ’78, Dr. Kenton Zehr ’83, Mary Ann Zehr, <\/strong>an adjunct writing instructor at EMU, and Dr. Bonnie Zehr ’86.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “My children thought that [donation] would be nice,” Pearl said. “I had a wonderful career, and I’m very pleased to have been able to have donated.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The little Floyd is modeled after a five-year old child, and is “very realistic,” said Professor Audrey Myers<\/strong>. He emits realistic heart and lung sounds that reflect different ailments. He can speak, move his head and eyes, and cry tears. His skin tone changes to mimic conditions like poor oxygenation, jaundice, and fever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Students are able to start intravenous access on Floyd, administer medications, and complete many other nursing skills,” Myers explained. “Floyd also is able to respond to interventions that the students carry out, which gives them immediate feedback. It is fun to see how they react to his child-like statements and expressions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Myers said that, even when there isn’t a global pandemic going on, “pediatric hospital rotations are extremely difficult to find for nursing students,” so the practice they get working with Floyd is especially valuable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nursing student Katy Wessel<\/strong> said that, before they had Floyd, they practiced scenarios involving child patients on adult manikins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “With the pediatric simulator, we can practice complex scenarios on a manikin that has the ability to shiver, become blue or red, have different heart and lung sounds, and generally ‘behave’ more like a child,” Wessel said. “It is very cool!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nursing student Karina Pidroutchniak<\/strong> added that “one of the educational benefits is being able to see and hear the normals right next to the abnormals, such as different heart and lung sounds.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another benefit of having the manikin is that \u2013 unlike with an actual child patient \u2013 students can make mistakes and learn from them without dire consequences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Of course mistakes are something we cannot have happen in the hospital setting,” Myers said, “but simulation allows us to give our students autonomy to make decisions that may not turn out the way they expect \u2013 and I believe this is where some of the best learning occurs.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/12\/20201022-Pediatric-Manikin-02-683x1024.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2020\/12\/20201022-Pediatric-Manikin-01-1024x683.jpg\")