Future doctors learning life-saving techniques in the Valley

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Future doctors in the Valley are getting valuable training on "plastic patients" in a state-of-the-art, simulation lab.

The UCSF Fresno Clinical Skills Lab looks like a hospital, but its rooms contain patient simulators. Physician instructors operate the simulators from a control room to create scenarios for medical students, from office visits to trauma emergencies.

The simulators can talk, cry, bleed, and even sweat, giving the students hands-on experience in a safe environment.

UCSF Fresno instructors say a third of the physicians trained here stay in the Valley to serve patients at local hospitals.