Newton-Wellesley Hospital Launches New Medical Simulation Center

announced this week a new center that will help prepare clinical staff members for real-life hospital situations. 

The Shipley Medical Simulation Center, which had its official ribbon cutting earlier this month, includes areas that resemble hospital rooms. The rooms are filled with the same equipment as regular hospital rooms and include observation areas as well as recording equipment to document and watch how the students operate and care for the manikins in the simulation.

According to a press release issued this week, the simulation center is an "integral role in training clinical staff members to respond to a number of critical situations that arise in the hospital setting." 

The manikins used in the simulation are advanced tools that include realistic anatomy, computerized control as well as some audio-visual interactive capability, the press release said.

“Medical simulation is a teaching strategy that mimics real-life situations,” Anesthesiologist/Co-Director of the ICU and Medical Director of the Simulation Center Mark Hershey, MD, said in the press release . “By engaging students in realistic situations, they develop clinical, behavioral and team skills in a safe and organized manner.”

The simulation center, which was made possible by a donation from the Shipley family, also includes debriefing rooms with computer equipment that allows the participants as well as other students to observe and review the work being done in the center.

Staff members will have the opportunity to experience real-life situations dealing with cardiac arrest, labor and delivery as well as anesthesia crisis management. By using the hands-on tools, doctors and students are able to better handle real-life situations with confidence, the press release said. 

“There are some skills that must be learned by doing,” Hershey said in the press release. “I compare this concept to learning to drive. You can only learn so much sitting in the passenger’s seat – when you get in the driver’s seat, then you get a feel for how it’s done.”