Simulation based education and surgical skills training is paramount to modern surgical education. Stony Brook University has devoted resources to this with the Clinical Simulation Center to enhance the learning environment available to the undergraduate and graduate medical education programs.
The CSC is a state-of-the-art training center is a 6,000-square-foot, multi-million-dollar facility. Since its opening in 2006, the CSC provides participants with opportunities to evaluate and diagnose patients through teaching modules that incorporate the use of simulated (actor) patients and computerized mannequins that simulate disease. The CSC offers opportunities for hands-on training in a safe environment.
The CSC features the following educational resources:
- Clinical scenario rooms, computer stations, and conference rooms
- A simulated operating room and 10 exam rooms
- A simulated trauma/emergency room
- Audio/visual monitoring for each exam room and for the simulated ER/OR
- High-fidelity computerized mannequins (Laerdal SimMen and SimBaby)
- Clinical Stations/partial trainers (TraumaMan, central line trainers, adult and pediatric IV and PICC arms and torso training, arterial arms, lumbar puncture backs, intubating heads, airway management trainer, Foley trainers, birthing trainer)
- The B-Line Medical Skills System and Sim Center System, comprehensive systems used for simultaneous monitoring, testing and assessment, digital A/V Management, and centralized data capture with a server capacity of up to 4 terabytes (or 2-3 years of videotaped encounters)
The CSC provides a range of outcome assessment activities including Objective Standardized Clinical Exercises for medical students, residents, faculty and other healthcare professionals. These include standardized patient encounters, high-fidelity mannequin scenarios, and clinical skills stations. The CSC is fully digitized, allowing for videotaping, streaming, remote viewing and scoring of simulated patient encounters.
At present, we have more than 150 standardized patients/actors in the bank. These actor/patients come from local community theatre groups as well as members of Screen Actors Guild. The CSC continues to grow and increase the number and types of activities offered in conjunction with the growth of the SSC.
