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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

Getting out of the dark

2015-06-10

ESKOM is making daily announcements on the status of the power grid.

Anton Calitz, Electrical Engineer at University Estates, is in continuous contact with Eskom and Centlec in an effort to stay abreast of load shedding.

According to Anton, Eskom has recently - the week of 20 April - been focusing on the evening peak, and has announced STAGE 1 load shedding from 17:00-22:00; thus, the Bloemfontein Campus should be able to continue business as usual during the day, except for Thursdays from 18:00 and, possibly, Fridays from 17:00.

Where can I get more information about load shedding stages?

Apart from Eskom’s webpage, staff can also visit GRID WATCH. Click on "Search", then under "Schedules". Look for "Mangaung Local Municipality", and select "GROUP 4". Save this location. “This can even be loaded onto your mobile device.”

“The time slots can be seen for a couple of days in advance, to allow us to plan around the possibility of load shedding in our daily lives,” said Anton.

Please note: ESKOM can change the STAGE level at any time. Therefore, keep an eye on GRID WATCH and News24.

View the typical seven-day planner for the Bloemfontein Campus (Group 4), which indicates the STAGE 2 and 3 possibilities. Take note that, on some days, the STAGE 2 and 3 time slots are the same.

More load shedding tips: Your IT needs

The UFS Data Centre (Computer Room) is fully serviced by a generator facility, and can function without external power supply for a few days.

The generator servicing the UFS data centre does NOT provide power to the outlying facilities. This implies that all digital equipment at gates, booms, and access points will be shut down until the power is restored to these facilities. “We are now, in collaboration with Nico Janse van Rensburg, in a process to install UPS facilities at these points, which will ensure two to three hours of power supply at these points, even during load shedding,” said Dr Vic Coetzee, Senior Director: ICT Services.

No Wi-Fi will be available, as it is dependent on the power supply to the buildings where it is installed.

All servers are contained in the data centre, and will be kept running by our generators.

How to manage load shedding and your IT needs:

1. Get into the habit of saving your work regularly on computer so that you don’t lose your work/files during load shedding.
2. Back up important data. Keep to a schedule of regular back-up. Make sure your computer back-ups are safe and recoverable.
3. Keep all electronic devices charged and ready to run on battery power. Keep your cellphone charged: some old-style Telkom landlines will still operate during power outages, but others won't.
4. Remember, when power supply is restored, it sometimes happens that a power surge is sent through the network, which will damage your computer. Fortunately, laptop computers will not suffer this fate as their power is provided through an external power pack. Often, this power pack will be damaged, but not the laptop itself.
5. It makes good sense to reboot your computer daily, not only in terms of power shedding, but also in terms of updating the drivers, software, etc.
6. Switch off all computers and other electrical equipment at the wall plug overnight and on weekends.
7. Should your IT equipment not switch on after a power outage, log a call with the ICT Services. You can also call them at x2000.

More information, guidelines and contact numbers

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