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Flinders University’s Healthcare Simulation Hub supports practical clinical education for nursing, midwifery and allied health students.
As Technical Officers, the simulation team manages and prepares realistic clinical learning environments using medical equipment, task trainers and manikins. These safe, hands-on spaces allow students to practise clinical skills before working with real patients.
When the team identified a need for a more realistic and durable infant intramuscular injection training solution, they approached TraumaSim to develop a custom Infant IM Injection Trainer suited to their simulation environment.
The Challenge
Midwifery students at Flinders University frequently practise administering intramuscular medications using infant manikins.
The existing integrated IM training areas on the infant manikins were not durable enough for repeated use. During practice, liquid would enter the manikin, increasing cleaning and maintenance requirements and creating the potential for internal moisture issues over time.
The existing training areas also did not provide the realism or feel required when teaching students to administer an IM injection to a neonate. The team needed a solution that would help protect the manikins, improve realism, and support repeated clinical skills practice.
The training setting
Training takes place in the Healthcare Simulation Hub at Flinders University. The Infant IM Injection Trainers support midwifery students, nursing students and teaching staff across infant and paediatric injection training activities.
The TraumaSim solution
Flinders University requested a custom Infant IM Injection Trainer designed to fit an infant manikin.
The team was already familiar with TraumaSim’s larger abdominal subcutaneous injection trainer. Through consultation with TraumaSim, this concept was scaled down and adapted into an Infant IM Injection Trainer suitable for use on an infant leg.
An additional benefit was identified after delivery: the Infant IM Injection Trainer also fits the upper arm of the paediatric manikins used in nursing topics. This means the same trainer can support both infant IM injection practice and paediatric upper-arm IM injection scenarios.
How the trainers are used
The Infant IM Injection Trainers are applied to infant manikins whenever midwifery students practise IM injections.
They will also be used by nursing students for paediatric IM injection training, allowing the product to support a broader range of clinical education scenarios than originally expected.
The trainers are easy for technical staff to apply, clean, dry and reuse, making them practical for repeated teaching sessions.
Why realism matters
Clinical skills training needs to feel as close as possible to real practice while remaining safe, controlled and repeatable.
The soft silicone used in the Infant IM Injection Trainer better mimics the skin of an infant’s leg compared with harder, drier foam-style training areas previously used on the existing manikins.
This more realistic training surface helps students practise injection technique with greater confidence and gives educators a more suitable tool for demonstrating and assessing paediatric and neonatal IM injection skills.
Outcomes
The Infant IM Injection Trainer has improved realism, engagement and practicality within Flinders University’s clinical skills training environment.
For students, the trainer provides a more realistic and slim alternative to bulky IM training products, helping add another level of realism to simulation scenarios.
For technical staff, the trainer helps reduce cleaning and maintenance requirements by protecting the manikins during repeated injection practice. It is also easy to apply, clean, dry and reuse between sessions.
Following first use, the trainer was trialled on a child manikin’s upper arm and was reported to work well, making it useful across both infant and paediatric training contexts.
Flinders University has indicated that they will continue using this training approach.
“The Infant IM Injection Trainer provides a much more realistic and slim alternative to bulky IM training products. This adds another level of realism to our scenarios and provides higher quality training to our students. From a Technical Officer stance, the trainer is easy to apply, clean, dry and reuse.”
About Flinders University Healthcare Simulation Hub
Flinders University’s Healthcare Simulation Hub prepares realistic clinical learning environments for nursing, midwifery and allied health students. The team uses medical equipment, manikins, task trainers and immersive simulation spaces to support safe, hands-on practice before students treat real patients.
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