Simulation hospital

A simulation hospital is a replica of an actual hospital environment where various types of healthcare workers can be trained in an immersive, multidisciplinary, and longitudinal fashion throughout the entire continuum of patient pathway. 

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The physical structure of the simulation hospital, as with any simulation center, integrates three different space types clinical and nonclinical simulation, educational, and supportive services [5]. The simulation hospital consists of different departments that mirror a real hospital. The list of these departments varies depending on the areas of interest of the institutions, population catchment, and the need for specific SBE. The area allocated to each department depends on many factors, including training needs, avadabiHty of simulation in that specific area, experience with curriculum development, allocated space for the whole project, and financial resources. In this section, the surgical simulation wiU be discussed in more details given the scope of this book. 

The simulation hospital is a first-class educational facility with state-of-the-art integrated technology. AU efforts have been made to make it efficient, comfortable, and reliable for intense training. The educational space includes conference rooms, debriefing rooms, and observation areas. 

Debriefing rooms are essential spaces for gathering the trainees or teams and brief and debrief them before and after the simulation activities. Ideally, there should be a debriefing room for every simulation room however, in a simulation hospital, we recommend a 1 2—1 3 ratio of debriefing room to simulation room. More than one simulation room can share the same debriefing room provided there is good coordination and flow of trainees, resulting in efficient use of resources and space. 

The simulation hospital contains general supportive areas, such as clean and dirty utility and areas more specific for simulation. The simulation-specific supportive areas include storage, changing quarters, standardized patient preparation rooms, and audiovisual server rooms. 

This area is used for trainees to store their belongings and to change into scrubs if needed. This area can function as psychological transition from the outer world to the simulation area. Each clinical department in the simulation hospital has its own changing quarter. 

The simulation hospital is served through a sophisticated audiovisual system because of the multiple training sessions that are conducted simultaneously. Capturing these exercises is vital for the debriefing process. The number of cameras will depend on the size of the simulation hospital. A special area on each floor should be dedicated to the audiovisual technician, who needs to review and archive the videos another area is needed for the servers. Special consideration is given to temperature control in this room the temperature must be maintained between 15 °C and 18 °C at all times because of the excessive heat from the servers. 

A major characteristic of the simulation hospital is its ability to train all segments of healthcare givers under one roof. The ideal exercise would entail multidisciplinary simulation training however, specific healthcare category training is required frequently. Hence, simulation hospital is ideal for the whole spectrum of simulation training for all categories of hospital staff. 

Pharmacy simulation training has been scarce worldwide. The pharmacy in the simulation hospital can train pharmacists and pharmacy assistants in all kinds of skills required in an actual hospital setting. Simulation scenarios can be created to demonstrate the interaction among physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. Special attention in pharmacy training is given to intravenous and chemotherapy preparation and dispensing of medications. 

The need for simulation training of the administrative staff has been overlooked throughout the years. The simulation hospital is a novel center to train administrative staff side by side with other healthcare workers on various scenarios. 

Uniform practices of key skills pertaining to hospital security can be taught in the simulation hospital. Examples of these scenarios include deahng with violent patients, child abduction, bomb threats, and disaster management. These exercises can be performed in a multidisciplinary fashion mimicking real hospital settings. 

Nutrition and food handling staff can be trained in different areas in the simulation hospital. Safe storage, preparation, and presentation of food are all competencies that require proficiency by skilled staff. The simulation hospital has a spacious kitchen and cafeteria where trainees can practice these skills. 

Other allied healthcare workers that train in the simulation hospital include but not limited to respiratory therapists, social workers, infection control, physiatrists, emergency medical services, and laboratory technicians. 

The simulation hospital is capable of the various kinds of simulation training. However, it is characterized by certain specialized simulation programs that are discussed in more detail in the following sections. 

The challenges in estabhshing a simulation hospital originate from its novelty and the comprehensively educational characteristics that it entails. Some of these challenges are Hsted in the following sections. 

The simulation hospital is a novel approach in simulation-based education that can train all categories of healthcare workers under one roof It is characterized by exceptional design where medical and educational engineering standards are blended together. When supported by well-structured curricula, a simulation hospital can be the model for future medical training. 

McDevitt JJ, Milton DK, Rudnick SN, First MW (2008) Inactivation of poxviruses by upper-room UVC light in a simulated hospital room environment. PLoS One 3 e3186... 

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