The mission of the Baystate Simulation Center and Goldberg Surgical Skills Laboratory (the Center) is to advance practitioner skill and knowledge in order to achieve measurable improvements in the way we care for patients. Recently, the use of simulator training devices and developed training curricula has increased dramatically, and BMC is fortunate to be at the forefront of a variety of simulation-based training endeavors across the nation.
Use of this modality supports a patient-centric focus which aids in the identification of the educational needs in a challenging, educational environment.
Our curricula and training experiences center on the premises of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that pertain directly to quality and compassion. The Center is committed to:
- Advancement of medical knowledge
- Patient care and safety
- Effective interpersonal communication and professionalism skills
- Interprofessional education in systems-based practice and teamwork
- Innovations through medical education in a controlled, reproducible, safe, and “forgiving” simulated setting which is beneficial and valuable to:
- Medical students
- Nursing students
- Physician Assistant students
- Advanced level practitioners
- Ancillary healthcare providers
- Emergency medical personnel
- Community outreach program participants
The Center is key to supplementation of medical training in light of current limitations, large provider-patient ratio workloads, and abbreviated orientation periods. Training our healthcare providers in this controlled, safe, reproducible, and customizable setting is not only an investment in the future of our healthcare teams, but also in the health of our patients, and simulation has proven to be an invaluable tool incorporating innovation in medical education.
Six years ago, the Center completed a significant expansion – both physically and technically – to meet the needs of our learners and to keep BMC on the cutting edge of healthcare technology through a variety of additional (and updated) simulation devices.
- In June 2007, we became one of less than twenty nationally recognized Level I Comprehensive Education Institutes accredited by the American College of Surgeons.
- We are currently one of sixty-one accredited Level I Education Institutes in the world, receiving full reaccreditation by the American College of Surgeons in June 2013.
- The accreditation provides us with recognition by our peers and participants as a resource for the education of healthcare providers.
- It puts us within an influential community of innovative educators that can provide networking and collaboration with respect to healthcare education foundations.
- We are actively participating in pioneering developments in the field of simulation-based instruction in core surgical competency training, under newly developed resident training curricula of the American College of Surgeons and the Association of Program Directors in Surgery.
- We are well positioned in the field of simulation education, as several certifying agencies are now requiring that simulation be an integral part of healthcare provider training, further validating the value of our simulation center endeavors.
- We are a Center for Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) certification, which is a national mandate for all surgical residencies.
Simulation Center activities are noted as curriculum components of trainees in Surgery, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Medicine-Pediatrics, Neonatology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, Cardiology, Nephrology, Hematology-Oncology, and Radiology.
The future holds much promise regarding expansion of established programs and development of new educational opportunities. Over the next several years, the Center plans to improve upon established curricular activities in all involved departments and divisions. Many of these programs will be involved in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary team training activities in addition to current curricular programs. Future endeavors include:
- Simulation programs in Geriatrics, Psychiatry, and Pathology
- Expanded medical student curriculum in conjunction with major Tufts University affiliates
- Expanded nursing orientation and maintenance of skills programs
- Continued efforts towards resident and physician maintenance of qualifications training
- Expanded efforts towards interprofessional education
- Expanded efforts towards remediation
- Further developments in assessment and research
- Expansion of certification course training and testing
- Implementation of in-situ simulation activities for quality assurance and process improvement endeavors
- Implementation of intensive orientation “boot camps” for learners in various specialty areas.
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For more information on the Baystate Simulation Center and Goldberg Skills Lab