Centers
Clinical Simulation Center
Explore the Center
The mission of the Clinical Simulation Center is to improve patient outcomes with effective programs that promote and enhance practitioner skills, clinical competence, teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration. To advance the field of healthcare simulation, the Center conducts innovative research into simulation theory, practice, and technology.
About the Simulation Center
The Clinical Simulation Center advances patient safety and learning through immersive, hands-on medical education. Learn more about the Simulation Center and it mission, and the meet the team.
Research Excellence
The center maintains an active research program in simulation-based education, with more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and more than a dozen book-chapters. The center is involved in student- and resident-led research using simulation.
Certification Courses
The center offers courses in simulation instruction, MOCA certification maintenance, and emergency care programs such as ACLS, BLS, PALS and HeartSaver.
Simulation Lab
The Simulation Lab replicates real clinical environments and allows learners to engage in realistic training scenarios that build clinical confidence, strengthen teamwork, and support hands-on skill development.
Standardized Patient Program
SPs may be laypeople or professional actors. They may also be patients with known abnormalities where cases can be "built" around those abnormalities (e.g. known heart murmurs, etc.).
Using a professional trainer and faculty help, such individuals are coached to "mimic" cases, including "acting out" certain physical findings. They are also taught to provide constructive feedback to the trainee/examinee on the encounter. Such individuals are reimbursed at an hourly rate for their services.
The program provides a very useful and flexible teaching and testing tool. It is particularly helpful for the student in transitioning from the classroom to the care of real patients. To faculty, on the other hand, it provides a tool to both teach and test students in a consistent and standardized manner.
It can be used to provide a "controlled" exposure to situations that are difficult, sensitive or uncomfortable such as giving bad news, dealing with hostile or difficult patients or sexual/domestic abuse etc. Also, new trainees may get an opportunity to work with emergency conditions without the immediate concern for patient safety. Further, trainees get the opportunity to get direct feedback from the SP regarding their communication skills.
With inpatient hospital stays substantially reduced, it is particularly difficult to locate appropriate patients for training students. The selected use of SPs overcomes this problem.
Medical students
PA students
Residents in training
Physicians (faculty development, testing skills, etc.)
Nurses and nursing students
Other allied health professionals (pharmacy, physical therapy students, etc.)