To use simulation and "virtual care" to develop a sophisticated, cognitive and procedural learning center to enhance education for all health-care providers at UC Davis Medical Center, UC Davis affiliated and regional medical centers, thereby improving patient care and safety to ensure best possible outcomes.
Just as technology is transforming the practice of medicine and the experiences of patients, it is also changing the way tomorrow’s doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals are being trained. At the UC Davis Center for Virtual Care, practitioners have access to an unprecedented array of sophisticated teaching aids, from human patient simulators that breathe and respond to treatment like real patients to surgical robots that hold instruments and respond to voice commands. Based on flight simulation technology, patient simulation systems create a virtual hospital environment using sophisticated software, video graphics and life-size mannequins that allow students and trained professionals to practice new procedures, respond to real-life patient scenarios, and hone their skills. Advanced robotics technology is also changing the face of surgery. Robots that control the movement of instruments and imaging devices during minimally invasive surgery are giving physicians better precision and increased dexterity, reducing hand tremors and allowing for smaller incisions. When combined with telecommunications technology, UC Davis surgeons hope to break the barriers of time and distance by performing remote surgeries on patients located thousands of miles away.