If Jane Ward isn’t busy enough in her role as a Senior Education Administrator with the Professional Education Development Team at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals (LTHTr), she’s also working hard completing her Simulation Technician Level 3 apprenticeship.
One of the highlights of her apprenticeship has been learning moulage – the art of creating realistic simulated wounds on both manikins and humans, a crucial tool in healthcare training and she has been sharing her learning with her students in their simulations and skills training.
By visually replicating injuries and ailments, moulage brings simulated scenarios to life, making the training feel more real and immersive. This hands-on approach helps students develop their critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills in a way that textbooks just can’t. From bruises and small cuts to more complex injuries like burns, gunshot wounds, and ulcers, moulage allows students to face a wide range of realistic situations.
Jane and the wider PED team are finding that it makes nursing students’ learning experiences much more authentic. It helps them respond as if they’re facing real-world situations, making the training much more hands-on and practical. This not only brings theory to life but also prepares students for the challenges they’ll face in their careers.
For Jane, this has been her favourite module of the entire apprenticeship – and it’s easy to see why.
Over the past year, she’s thrown herself into perfecting her moulage skills at countless training events, growing in confidence with every opportunity. Now, her realistic wounds and special effects are being woven into student nurse scenarios, bringing simulations to life in a way that’s both gripping and unforgettable.
Jane’s goal? To take it even further – building her skills and boosting the realism of every scenario, helping students feel fully immersed and better prepared for the realities of clinical care.
