WashU Medicine employs simulation for all levels of students in a variety of settings, optimizing the technology and the techniques for the task and the learners. Medical students in all four years learn and practice communication, clinical skills and the diagnosis and treatment of conditions from the common to the rare and life-threatening.
Simulation includes:
- Computer-driven mannequins with life-like fidelity
- Human “standardized patients” who play realistic roles
- Training models to learn and practice procedural skills
The simulation centers provide:
- Exam and patient rooms for practice and assessment
- Electro-mechanical mannequins that breathe, blink, have pulses and can be programmed to mimic many different patient conditions
- Procedural training models
- Digital recording of training sessions
- Immediate review and debriefing by an instructor
- Training on a wide variety of clinical situations
- Immersive team training to ensure effective interaction
- A safe place to learn and make mistakes where there is no risk to actual patients
Curriculum:
Students in all three phases of the Gateway curriculum spend time in the simulation centers
- Phase 1 students learn & practice clinical skills
- Phase 2 students learn and practice foundational skills for the clerkships
- Phase 3 students prepare for internship and residency training
Visit the website of the Simulation Centers at WashU Medicine to learn more.