Basic vs Multi-functional Nursing Manikins: How to Choose

Choose a basic nursing manikin when you mainly teach foundational care: positioning, hygiene, injections and catheterization. Choose a multi-functional manikin when one model must also support additional procedures, such as airway care, so learners can practise linked skills in a single scenario. Many schools use both: several basic manikins for volume practice and one or two multi-functional models for integrated sessions.

A basic full-body nursing manikin, such as the General Doctor GD/H100S, focuses on patient care, injection training and catheterization. It is well suited to first-year fundamentals and to practice sessions where many learners need repeated access to the same core routines.

A multi-functional model, such as the female GD/H2, combines airway care, injection practice and female catheterization. Instructors can build a lesson sequence that moves from one procedure to the next on the same patient, which helps learners connect individual skills into a care plan.

• Elderly care: GD/H220B elderly female and GD/H228 elderly male nursing and CPR manikins • Paediatrics: GD/FT333 three-year-old child manikin • Infant care: GD/H130 nursing baby and GD/FT331B premature infant model

• Which procedures must the manikin support this year and in the next phase? • How many learners will use it per session? • Do you need male, female or interchangeable anatomy? • Which parts and skins will need replacing, and how often? • Will task trainers cover some skills more efficiently than a full manikin?

Tell us the skills you teach and your cohort size, and we will recommend suitable models.