You’ve likely heard the saying, “practice makes perfect,” but how do you know that you are making your practice as perfect as possible? When considering the life-saving nature of performing CPR, it is important to ensure that your practice is not only good practice but that these skills will transfer to outside of the training session and help save a life when it matters most.
Finding the best CPR manikins is an often overlooked step in planning CPR training. Your CPR instructor might bring along a manikin, but if you or your company are tasked with selecting a suitable stand-in for training, do you know what to look for?
Read on to learn what to look for when selecting the best CPR manikins and how these tools ensure your skills can be relied on in an emergency.
The Best CPR Manikins
When you’re considering what makes the best CPR manikins, it’s important to consider a variety of factors. Oftentimes we’ve heard that companies are told to source manikins that turn out to be overly complicated or of sub-par quality for the expensive price they paid.
We believe that any quality manikin should have a clear feedback system integrated into the manikin. For some systems, this might be an audible clicker that is embedded into the manikin’s chest to help the user know that their chest compressions are an appropriate depth.Ensuring that this step is performed appropriately is crucial, especially with the recent focus and life-saving quality of compression-only CPR.
Other systems may integrate a rate counter to help the instructor to properly evaluate the rhythm and rate of these compressions to ensure students are reaching the 100 compressions per minute minimum required for effective CPR.
Multiple Use Manikins
The best CPR manikins for CPR instructors are more often higher in cost, but their ability to be used by a variety of students safely and effectively makes them a sound investment. These systems are built to be durable and last for years with proper care.
One unique feature of these manikins is their ability to be used with or without face shields. The material of these manikins can be cleaned with alcohol swabs between students and can easily be maintained with ordinary household cleaners such as Windex or soap and water. We are also fans of manikins that are properly weighted to ensure realistic practice.
At ProTrainings, all of the multiple-use manikins we carry are Prestan manikins due to their quality construction and the integration of their compression depth and rate indicators. These indicators help the student and instructor alike to ensure they’re making the most of their hands-on practice.
Single-Use Manikin Option
One unique option for a single individual or smaller group of five or fewer people who need to perform a skills evaluation for their CPR certification is a Single Use Manikin Option, or SUMO. This type of kit is intended for a single student, however, if students utilize their own face shield with the product, it can safely be used with up to five students.
This type of manikin is constructed out of cardboard to help keep costs low, however, they do contain a mechanical noise generator that will let the student and online skills evaluation instructor know that the student’s chest compressions are appropriately deep.
Our students who have used a SUMO share their appreciation not only of the low costs, but also the high-quality learning and hands-on practice they receive with these innovative kits.
It is essential that you have the best CPR manikins available to you so that you can ensure your CPR practice is effective. A good CPR manikin that provides clear feedback to the user that they are utilizing proper techniques can make all the difference in reaching perfect practice.
It’s important to have quality tools for your CPR training, and sourcing them from a company like ProTrainings can let you feel confident in the quality of the manikins available. Beyond having the best CPR manikins, ProTrainings can pair your manikin with the most up-to-date training provided by one of our top-quality instructors.
Contact us today to learn more about how ProTrainings can help you make getting your staff CPR certified easier and more efficient.