Our people
- Dr Ohad Dar | Co-Director
Email ohad.dar@southerndhb.govt.nz - Paul Medeiros | Operations Co-ordinator
Email paul.medeiros@southerndhb.govt.nz - Imogen Christie | Simulation Assistant/Administrator
Email imogen.christie@southerndhb.govt.nz
Hours
The OCSL operates Monday to Friday and is closed weekends and public holidays.
The OCSL opens at 8:00am and closes at 4:30pm.
Excellence through hands-on clinical education
The Otago Clinical Skills Laboratories (OCSL) are a joint initiative between the Otago Medical School: Dunedin Campus (OMSDC) and the Southern District Health Board (SDHB).
The OCSL facilitates tutor-led clinical skills training and education to undergraduate students of the OMSDC, and to SDHB clinical staff. The purpose of the facility, and its programmes, is to provide a safe and effective learning environment for health professionals to develop, refine, and maintain their clinical skills, and to offer enhanced learning opportunities for both medical students and SDHB clinical staff.
The OCSL is a resource that contributes to the best possible outcomes for the health of our community, with patients treated by clinicians who continue to gain and maintain their skills in a safe learning environment rather than by trial and error.
Otago Simulation Interest Group
The Otago Simulation Interest Group (OSIG) is a community of practice composed of a diverse group of educators interested in simulation-based education as it relates to health. The OSIG welcomes anyone with an interest in simulation-based education who has a professional role related to clinical education in healthcare.
Email meu.admin@otago.ac.nz
Our location and workspaces
The OCSL is located on the second floor of the Fraser Building, which has entrances on Cumberland Street and Hanover Street.
Fraser Building at 154 Hanover Street on Google Maps
Venue utilisation and bookings
The venue is heavily utilised by the OMSDC as part of the Advanced Learning in Medicine (ALM) programme – years 4 to 6 (ALM4–Trainee Intern). The SDHB facilitate and deliver many courses, workshops, and programmes through the OCSL. As part of the joint initiative, OMS and SDHB clinical education are given booking priority.
Any organisations or courses held outside of the OMS/SDHB joint initiative will be subject to OCSL's hiring fees for venue space and/or equipment.
All OCSL venue utilisation is pre-booked through the Operations Co-ordinator, with all equipment and personnel tracked and registered for data collection purposes.
The OCSL offers a limited (but useful!) range of clinical education equipment for loan to SDHB/OMS departments (adhering to OCSL policy, see below) for clinical training and education purposes.
As a venue, the OCSL can support a capacity of 80–100 personnel at any one time (spread through the 4 main areas), with limitations to attendant capacity per area. Operations at varying COVID‑19 Alert Levels have specific limitations to attendance numbers, and operate under specific utilisation guidelines.
At Alert Level 3 the OCSL is closed to clinical education facilitation.
Booking enquiries
To make a booking enquiry for venue space, equipment loan, or other queries, contact the OCSL Operations Co-ordinator:
Paul Medeiros
OCSL Operations Co-ordinator
Email paul.medeiros@southerndhb.govt.nz or paul.medeiros@otago.ac.nz
All clinical education facilitated through the OCSL is to be supervised by appropriate faculty at all times.
The OCSL operates Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm.
Hiring fees for external users
OCSL Venue booking fees (PDF)
Please note that fees are subject to change
Policies
Food and drink
The OCSL operates a strict no food and drink policy.
Food and drink are not permitted to be consumed in any of the OCSL clinical teaching spaces.
Bottled water is permitted in all clinical teaching areas with the exception of the Simulation Suite.
Equipment loan
The OCSL equipment loans are for SDHB and OMS use only.
OCSL policy only permits equipment to be loaned and used by personnel experienced and proficient in the use of the loaned item. Please contact the OCSL Operations Co-ordinator to see what equipment is available for loan:
Email paul.medeiros@southerndhb.govt.nz
Once an equipment loan has been confirmed by the OCSL, a form is emailed to the requestor and is on the equipment when ready to be collected. Please ensure the equipment loan board at the Collection Return Point is signed when collected and returned. It is the responsibility of the department loaning the equipment to collect it from the OCSL Collection and Return Point in the main corridor, either themselves or by contacting and arranging collection through the SDHB orderly system. All loans are to be returned the same day unless specifically stated and arranged. Equipment is not to be used by trainees without a registered proficient user supervising.
Any issues arising from the equipment during loan should be immediately passed on to OCSL staff upon return.
All users are asked to sanitise hands before using equipment (some equipment, such as airway trainers, requires gloves to be worn) and to clean equipment following use and before return to the OCSL.
Equipment is not permitted be used or taken outside the SDHB or OMS setting.
SIMULWEEK 2018/19
One week of simulation-based education and training.
OCSL is proud to have collaborated with our international colleagues through the Southern District Health Board and Otago Medical School (Dunedin Campus), holding advanced simulation symposia, workshops, and plenary lectures for two years running, spearheaded by international simulation experts Professor Victoria Brazil and Jesse Spurr.
Participants were provided with a grounding on how to design and deliver simulation-based education effectively, as well as focusing on debrief techniques and reflective discussions which will help translate educational outcomes to clinical practice.
Key topics included throughout the programmes were:
- Designing and delivering simulation-based learning
- Designing and delivering scenarios
- Debriefing and debriefing dilemmas
- Hot topics – simulated patients/buy in and sustainability.
The programmes were well received and the OCSL hopes to facilitate more of these simulation programmes in the future.
