UTGSM The Scope E-Newsletter March 2012 UT Center for Advanced Medical Simulation Opens to the Community

UTGSM Medical Simulation Center Open House The UT Graduate School of Medicine held a grand opening event in its new medical simulation center, inviting faculty, staff and the community to tour the facility and participate in simulations. The UT Center for Advanced Medical Simulation is expected to enhance the quality of patient care and improve outcomes by advancing the medical skills of physicians and other healthcare professionals.

Physicians and staff said the new facility stands alongside the nation's best simulation centers for meeting the needs of practicing and aspiring medical professionals. Complete with lifelike adult and newborn mannequins that mimic humans, simulated operating, intensive care and endovascular suites and a host of other advanced training devices for medical and dental procedures, the center is equipped to help clinicians improve their skills and decision making capabilities.

UTGSM Center for Advanced Medical Simulation "The new simulation center represents the changing paradigm in healthcare education and training," said Dr. Leonard Hines, Co-Director of the UT Center for Advanced Medical Simulation and an assistant professor with the UT Graduate School of Medicine. "Similar to training in the aviation industry, every member of the healthcare team has the opportunity to learn and master skills and to become familiar with advancing technology in a safe, risk-free environment, before accepting the challenge of patient care. In promoting safer and higher quality healthcare, the center becomes a valuable asset to the region's medical community and the patients served."

The new center is 6,500 square feet, significantly larger than the 400-square-foot original simulation center that opened in 2008. Already recognized as a regional asset for clinicians from a variety of hospitals and health systems in the Knoxville area, the newly renovated facility is expected to attract medical professionals from around the region and country for training.

"In addition to physicians, other healthcare providers such as nurses, therapists, physician assistants, EMTs and dentists learn techniques at the simulation center that can quickly be put into practice for their patients," said Dr. Paul Huffstutter, Co-Director of the simulation center and an assistant professor with the UT Graduate School of Medicine. "Our physicians and staff provide significant hands-on training, but we also step back to observe and capture video recordings of procedures from a control room, with immediate debriefing and critiquing sessions afterward, to optimize student learning."

In accordance with their role at the region's only academic medical center, staff members, including Melinda Klar, RN, Administrative Director, and Judy Roark, CST, Lab Coordinator and Skills Coach, employ a model by which they continually study their own training and teaching techniques as well as how others best learn. As a result, they can continually modify their training modules and methods to help those they teach maximize what they've learned on behalf of their patients.

"Not only will the UT Center for Advanced Medical Simulation make a great contribution to our educational programs here, but it also will provide excellent opportunities for physicians and other healthcare professionals in the region to update their skills and meet newer requirements for certification," said Dr. James J. Neutens, Dean of the UT Graduate School of Medicine. "Although the center revolves around providers of healthcare, the ultimate success story will be improved patient care and safety. We're delighted to open the new simulation center."