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Lifelike mannequin teaches Nursing students about childbirth

09 December 2019 | Story Nonsindiso Qwabe | Photo Barend Nagel

Victoria Read more — Victoria the mannequin has become a familiar face in Nursing classrooms

She has an uncanny ability to move her eyes towards the sound of voices in a room, her voice shrills and squeals when she's in pain, she throws in a Spanish word or two, and she releases bodily fluids just like a real human would.

These are just some of the quirky characteristics that make up the new R1,76 million-rand birthing mannequin in the School of Nursing's Simulation Unit, who goes by the name Victoria. She weighs more than 80 kg and is almost 1,7 metres high. With features such as real eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair, you can't help but do a double take when you lay eyes on her.

Students getting practical experience

While the unit has other mannequins used for training Nursing students in each year or their study, Simulation Coordinator from the School of Nursing in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Cecile Fourie, said Victoria was a major upgrade for the school because of her versatility. Victoria would further enhance the school's quality of teaching by training students in their final year of undergraduate studies as well as those pursuing their postgraduate studies, about the ins and outs of pregnancy and other female morbidities, Fourie said.

"We try to make our scenarios as real and authentic as possible and we've seen how much our students have grown. Introducing Victoria to our pre- and postgraduate students will prepare them to be competent in clinical practice."

Meet Victoria

So, what exactly can Victoria do?

Fourie said while the other mannequins were made with screws that made them look robot-like, Victoria was made with silicone and given a clean finish to make her appear life-like. The other mannequins can only blink, but Victoria's eyes move around, she can speak Spanish and French, and she comes with five tummies for different medical scenarios. She has a normal tummy which acts as a closure, an operable tummy for caesarean delivery, a tummy that allows a breeched baby to be twisted and turned from the outside just before delivery, a contraction tummy used for normal vaginal delivery – which also allows Victoria to push, bleed, urinate, and release mineral oil which acts as amniotic fluid. The fifth tummy is postpartum haemorrhage, a condition that is common among South African mothers after delivery.

"It’s so good that we get to train our students in such real, lifelike circumstances. Through Victoria we're going to try and do our part in lessening maternal deaths, which are so prominent in our country. She can act out all the abnormalities that take place in a real delivery, and she can also have other medical conditions such as a heart attack," Fourie said.

News Archive

UFS experimental farm to be redesigned as a training facility

2004-10-25

Back fltr:
Dr Léan van der Westhuizen, Manager: UFS Sydenham Experimental Farm; Prof Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS and Councilor Thami Stander, Chairperson: Mangaung Municipal Portfolio for Agriculture and Rural Development

Front fltr:
Mr Hanz Nketu, Chairperson: Free State Legislative Committee on Agriculture and Mr Peter Frewen from the Free State Legislature

The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences of the University of the Free State will soon sign a tri-partite cooperation agreement with the National African Farmers Union (NAFU) and the Mangaung Local Municipality with the aim of providing training and mentorship to small-scale and emerging farmers, including those recently settled under the on-going land redistribution programme.

The agreement is part of the Faculty’s strategic plan to support the on-going reform process in the country, of which Black Economic Empowerment in Agriculture (Agri-BEE) is an important part. The Free State Provincial Department of Agriculture is also actively supporting this initiative.

Under the plan, the Faculty is redesigning its experimental farm, located about 12 kilometers south of Bloemfontein, as a training facility to build up skills in among others broiler and egg production, dairy farming, animal husbandry, piggery, sheep and goat production. The idea is to introduce a comprehensive package that empowers the small and emerging farmers and the local communities adjoining the farms through simultaneous investments in research, extension, and practical agricultural training.

Learnerships are also being drawn up to provide productive skills in order to contribute to addressing the national skills gap and enhancing opportunities for both self and wage employment.

The residents of the adjoining informal settlement known as Mangaung Phase II where unemployment is currently at extremely high levels are primary targets of this component of the project. The Faculty intends for this project to service the farming communities of the Free State Province and gradually spread to other Provinces in the country.

Having recognised this training programme as a potential instrument for achieving “a united and prosperous agricultural sector”, the Free State Legislature has shown considerable interest in the programme.

Following a preparatory visit to the farms by the Agriculture Committee of the Free State Legislature a request was made to the Faculty to host a larger visit by the Legislative Committees of the Free State, North West and Eastern Cape Provincial Legislatures on Monday 25 October 2004 and present details of the training programme.

The President of NAFU in the Free State Province, Mr Nox Nonkonyana, the Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Herman van Schalkwyk, the Chair of the Mangaung Municipal Portfolio for Agriculture and Rural Development, Councilor Thami Stander, and the Chairperson of the Free State Legislative Committee on Agriculture, Mr M Nketu, will address the Legislators during the occasion.

Prof Herman van Schalkwyk

Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

University of the Free State, Bloemfontein

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
25 Oktober 2004

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