Simulation Training at AltaMed
The new AltaMed simulation training area is a state-of-the-art facility featuring advanced medical training manikins for students in the AltaMed Nursing School Collaborative. These manikins bring classroom concepts to life, allowing nursing students to build essential clinical skills through hands-on practice in a safe, supportive environment.
Nursing student Edith Martinez (read more about her story) stands with a group of students around a hospital bed as they observe a peer begin a practice assessment on one of the new life-size training manikins. When the student notices that the “patient” is short of breath, they continue the examination by placing a stethoscope on the manikin’s back and hear a crackling sound in the lungs.
This scene reflects a typical practice scenario in the new AltaMed simulation training area.
The life-size, medium-fidelity manikins serve as realistic practice partners and provide feedback such as heart and lung sounds, coughing, and sneezing — simulating everyday patient care in a clinic or hospital setting. They also include special features that allow students to practice core competencies, including IV insertion, airway assessment, wound care, catheter placement, and CPR. Through repeated training scenarios like these, students such as Edith can safely gain practical experience, learn to read vital signs, and exercise clinical judgment.
Edith, along with her classmates, is participating in the 12-month Annenberg School of Nursing Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) program — one of several Nursing School Collaborative programs that enable employees to return to school and advance their careers.
“My experience at the simulation lab has been very positive,” says Edith. “It’s a realistic and safe place to practice skills without the pressure of working on real patients. Being able to apply the skills myself has helped build my confidence and made me more comfortable preparing for real patient situations.”
By offering simulation training, AltaMed bridges the gap in quality medical education and provides the same immersive learning experiences as larger institutions.
Simulation Training in a FQHC Setting
It is uncommon for staff at a federally qualified health center (FQHC) like AltaMed to have access to advanced resources, such as simulation training areas. According to Dr. Ali R. Tayyeb, who helped establish the training space, making such technology available requires significant organizational vision and cooperation. He credits AltaMed leadership for prioritizing this investment, noting that providing high-level equipment and training for both the Annenberg program and general medical staff is a rare achievement for an FQHC.
Scenario-based training is highly effective in addressing disparities in care related to gender, aging, and cultural factors. For instance, instructors can design simulations tailored to how women experience cardiac events, which often differ from men’s experiences. This prepares students to identify these distinct clinical signs in real-world settings.
Supporting a Diverse Workforce
Of the 24 students in the 2025 Annenberg LVN cohort, 75% are first-generation college students and 61% are first-generation health care workers, most coming from underserved backgrounds.
Medical Education Manager Denise Rios, who oversees the nursing pathway programs, says, “The training area supports diverse learning styles, especially for students whose first language may not be English or who lack prior clinical experience.” By offering these resources, AltaMed is building a diverse, culturally competent nursing workforce that truly reflects the communities it serves.
The AltaMed Nursing School Collaborative
The AltaMed Nursing School Collaborative is part of a vision to bring medical education to historically underserved communities, building a future where we can uplift nurses with the support they need to pursue their education while working and raising families.
Learn more about the AltaMed Nursing School Collaborative.
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