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Simulated patients provide real experience for St. Elizabeth nurses-in-training

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EDGEWOOD, Ky. -- The patients treated by St. Elizabeth Healthcare's newest nurses can breathe, blink, give birth and even die, but they're not alive.

They're hyper-realistic mannequins designed to help healthcare professionals-in-training get hands-on experience without placing real lives in any danger.

Simulated scenarios are one of the health care network's most groundbreaking training tools, according to St. Elizabeth Employment Director Lisa Blank, and they illustrate its commitment to training the best nurses with the best tools for their job.

"(The simulation) is a way to learn so that when you get to the floor in an environment where our patients need us, you're confident and you're successful in what you do," Blank said.

St. Elizabeth is looking for more confident, successful medical professionals to join its team, Blank said. Although the system already employs 2,200 nurses -- 380 of whom were hired in 2016 -- the upcoming openings of a cardiovascular intensive care unit and an interventional coronary care unit mean that there's still more demand for nurses who want to become part of the organization and learn at what Blank calls "the most state-of-the-art facility in the region."

If you're interested in working with St. Elizabeth and its not-quite-alive simulated patients, you can learn more online.

"If you're passionate about taking care of people, then that's the profession for you," Blank said.