Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) Institute for Postgraduate Education and Research will establish the region’s first Medical Simulation Center in Dubai.

The centre will train healthcare professionals in a simulated environment with no risk to patients.

HMSDC is a member of the recently launched Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Academic Medical Center at Dubai Healthcare City.

The Medical Simulation Center will be housed in the HMSDC building that will also include an auditorium, teaching spaces and a library to support education programs at the world’s first integrated healthcare free zone. It will be fully operational by the first quarter of 2009.

Dr Muhadditha Al Hashimi, CEO of Dubai Healthcare City, a member of Tatweer, said: “This centre will utilise the latest expertise in medical simulation for the benefit of the region’s growing number of professionals. This initiative is part of DHCC’s intention to stay ahead of the curve in healthcare education and provide global standard training and skill sets to the academic medical community.”

Occupying 20,461 sq ft area, the Simulation Center will offer postgraduate medical trainees and other healthcare professionals simulated training scenarios in rooms which are designed to replicate Operating Rooms, Intensive Care Units, Emergency Rooms and Ward Rooms.

Dr Robert Thurer, chief academic officer, HMSDC, said: “This state-of-the-art training center will reduce errors and improve the quality of care and teamwork. The facility will be an addition to other components that will support DHCC in its efforts to become the regional center for excellence in healthcare informed by education and research.”

Approximately 6,000 sq ft of the centre will be designated for Emergency Medicine training. This area will consist of car crash simulations, mock ambulance and mock helicopter evacuations where healthcare professionals and emergency staff will train in extraction procedures, providing emergency medical care until such time as the patient is handed over to emergency room or trauma center staff.

Various types of simulators and simulation-based training will be used separately or together as part of a specialised curricula, developed to meet the needs of healthcare professionals. These training methods include Human Patient Simulators, Task Trainers, Computer Assisted/Virtual Reality Trainers and Standardized Patients.

The Human Patient Simulator systems consist of mannequins that are capable of verbal communication, accurate representation of common physical exam findings and physiologic responses to drug and treatment.

There will also be a Skills Laboratory which has partial and complete task trainers used for professional skills training. Trainees will be able to practice minimally invasive procedures such as insertion of an IV tube or specific procedures like endoscopies, allowing them to build their skills and competencies.

The Medical Simulation Center will be part of the recently launched Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Academic Medical Center, which consists of the HMSDC, the University Hospital, the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research and the Al Maktoum Harvard Medical Library.  –TradeArabia News Service