A local STAR was featured on a recent episode of Burn Notice, Florida International University’s STAR Center.

It stands for Simulation Teaching and Research.

Students in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences train in this mock hospital where the patients are mannequins equipped to simulate complications.

“You’re talking to someone who’s not real, so you’re not used to that. But it’s weird. We learn to treat them like people and we forget they’re just mannequins," said nursing student Arianna Gonzalez.

They also spend time in real hospitals across South Florida where they mainly shadow working nurses and observe what they do.

The STAR Center is giving students their first hands-on experience.

“It breaks the ice of being in charge and making decisions” said Annette Alorda, who is in her first semester.

One of the mannequins in named Noelle. She’s is the mock obstetrical patient who delivers a mannequin baby. There are also fake body parts students can use for practice.

The Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Ora Strickland, points to different fake arms where students learn to draw blood and put an IV in place.

“Here we have an elder person’s arm because that presents challenges from drawing blood and giving IVs. We have a darker person’s arm because with a darker skinned person it may be more difficult to locate the vein,” said Strickland.

The medical equipment in the mock hospital is similar to what is used in hospitals across South Florida.

FIU is one of 10 sites for a national study evaluating the use of simulation to train nurses. It started this fall and will continue one year after they graduate and are treating real patients full time.