Medical simulation is a situation or environment created to allow participants to experience a representation of a real event for the purpose of practice, learning, evaluation and testing. In this setting, mistakes lose their consequences and become opportunities to learn. Simulation permits learning in a completely safe and risk free environment for patients. The goals of simulation in undergraduate medical education are: 1) the development of teamwork and leadership skills 2) gaining competency in invasive procedures through repetitive practice and 3) the enhancement of clinical judgment in the setting of acute clinical emergencies. The mission of the Yale Center for Medical Simulation (YCMS) is to provide excellent patient care through innovative medical education, assessment and research. Our state-of-the-art center will promote the acquisition of basic and advanced clinical skills that are essential for medical students and residents to master, and are integral to the educational mission of Yale School of Medicine. It will provide an ideal learning environment for supervised and independent practice. The Simulation Center will contribute to the medical school’s research mission by identifying more effective educational methods and evaluation tools. The Center will be available to all members of the Yale School of Medicine community for educational research opportunities. Yale Center of Medical Simulation will use mannequin-based fully interactive simulators in the fields of emergency medicine, surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, anesthesia and other clinical settings. The facility will occupy 4,950 square feet and contain replicas of an ED/ICU/ward, trauma resuscitation bay, pediatric/newborn unit and operating room. Simulation scenarios will include critical actions in both clinical management and communication skills. Dedicated simulation faculty with expertise in scenario design and debriefing skills will guide students through cases. Students will have the opportunity to address end of life issues, informed consent, and disclosure of medical errors. Each simulation room will allow for sophisticated video recording to enable participants to have the opportunity to reflect on their performance in an interactive debriefing session following the simulation scenario. The center has a conference room and debriefing room designed to encourage reflection and feedback. Students will learn a wide range of invasive procedures from insertion of IVs, nasogastric tubes and urinary catheters to more advanced procedures such as central venous catheter insertion, chest tube insertion, and difficult airway management. Bedside ultrasound simulators will assist students in developing technical skills as well as learning how to interpret point-of-care ultrasounds. Partial task trainers allow the acquisition of these technical skills prior to entering the clinical setting thus increasing patient safety. The Yale Center for Medical Simulation offers the opportunity to advance knowledge through educational research. All members of the Yale medical community will have access to the simulation lab for research purposes. Current research projects include the transfer of invasive procedural skills from the simulation lab to the clinical setting, skills decay, development of communication and leadership skills during acute resuscitations.
