Muscatine Fire Department firefighters strengthened their emergency medical response skills this week through hands-on simulation training delivered by Simulation in Motion–Iowa (SIM-IA).
The statewide mobile training program, operated by University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, brought high-fidelity clinical scenarios directly to Muscatine Fire personnel over three days, allowing crews to practice complex medical emergencies in a realistic but controlled environment.
“This is the second time Muscatine Fire has used this training opportunity,” said Battalion Chief Andrew McSorley, who also serves as the department’s EMS operations chief. “It’s extremely solid training for both our veteran staff and our newest team members.”
The SIM-IA unit features two fully equipped simulation rooms, one designed to replicate an ambulance and the other an emergency department bay. A central control room allows instructors to operate advanced manikins that can talk, blink, breathe, bleed, sweat, vomit, and display pulses, creating a lifelike training environment for emergency medical responders.
During the latest sessions, firefighters worked in two-person teams through scenarios including a woman in active labor and a dehydrated juvenile patient. Instructors interacted as the “voice” of each patient while crews assessed conditions, made treatment decisions, and managed care under pressure.
“We ran the entire department through scenarios that focus on skills you may not get to use very often,” McSorley said. “It’s a chance to practice high-risk, low-frequency situations in a controlled environment.”
Each scenario was followed by a detailed debrief, with instructors reviewing what went well, where improvements could be made, and how lessons from the exercise could be applied to real-world patient care.
McSorley said the mobile training format offers significant benefits because SIM-IA provides the program at no cost to EMS agencies that request it.
Muscatine Fire previously used SIM-IA’s mobile training program in December 2020, when crews responded to simulated incidents involving a severe leg impalement after an 18-foot fall from a tree stand and a critically ill juvenile patient requiring urgent care.
According to SIM-IA, the program provides high-, mid-, and low-fidelity simulation experiences for healthcare providers across Iowa. While simulation is widely used in formal medical education, many certified EMS providers, particularly in rural areas, have limited access to advanced training once they enter the field.
By bringing training directly to local agencies, SIM-IA enables EMS teams to practice in their own communities without disrupting staffing or patient care, while also reducing travel and education costs.
For Muscatine Fire, the recent training offered another opportunity to sharpen clinical decision-making, strengthen teamwork, and prepare responders for rare but critical emergencies.
