WRNMMC, Bethesda, Md. –
In observance of Simulation in Healthcare Week 2023 (Sept. 18-22), Walter Reed’s Department of Simulation hosted an expo Sept. 19-20 featuring the latest state-of-the-art simulation technology, some currently in use at the medical center.
Simulation in Healthcare Week celebrates professionals who use simulation to improve the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of health care delivery, explained Dr. Jennifer C. Geracht, chief of the Department of Simulation at Walter Reed and assistant professor of pediatrics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine.
She shared that those invited to the expo brought task trainers, high fidelity mannikins and equipment the Department of Simulation’s Education and Operations staff believe can support training for medical and military staff at Walter Reed. “We asked for feedback from faculty and learner groups so that we can best meet their needs in our simulation center.”
“Simulation is a method of training and education that improves readiness and patient safety,” Geracht shared. “Medical simulation has been shown to save lives, improve patient health care delivery, reduce medical stays and patient care errors. As a patient and provider-focused high reliability organization, Walter Reed’s Department of Simulation supports those who deliver health care to our service personnel and their beneficiaries. We offer training courses and well-developed curricula to keep procedural skills current and support training gaps.”
According to the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, “Simulation education is a bridge between classroom learning and real-life clinical experience. [People] may learn how to do injections by practicing on an orange with a real needle and syringe. Much more complex simulation exercises…may rely on computerized mannequins that perform dozens of human functions realistically in a health care setting such as an operating room or critical care unit that is indistinguishable from the real thing. Training simulations do not put actual patients at risk. Simulation training allows health care workers to perfect their craft with no risk to real patients or themselves.”
“We have high fidelity task trainers and mannikins which are lifelike, not only how they look cosmetically, but how they can be programmed to operate,” Geracht said about Walter Reed’s simulation center. “The mannikins can interact with their learners, like speaking, yelling, crying or shaking their hand. One mannikin can deliver a baby, including complications of a delivery. Different physical findings are programmed depending on the learning objectives of the scenario, so the ‘patient’ may have a seizure, or findings of congestive heart failure or pneumonia. We also have a large Standardized Patient (SP) program, as well as use medical moulage when needed to further make the scenario realistic.”
Geracht said the Department of Simulation at Walter Reed supports graduate medical education (GME) interns, residents and fellows. “Some GME programs have specific simulation-based curriculum as part of their protected teaching time. This may include deliberate skills practice, or scenarios. In addition, learners benefit from ultrasound free scan, or familiarization with difficult conversations with our SPs.”
She added that the department also supports non-GME courses as well, like the Practical Nurse Course (PNC) and Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC). “We offer certification courses, such as Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), and Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS).”
She said if a consult is needed for simulation training, people can email the center at dha.bethesda.j-11.mbx.simulation-center@health.mil.