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Tuesday 24 November 2020 2:23pm

Simulation Centre celebration image
Staff and students from the University's Christchurch campus celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Simulation Centre.

Staff and students from the University's Christchurch campus recently celebrated the 10 year anniversary of its Simulation Centre.

The Centre is a place where medical and nursing students, as well as working health professionals, do simulation-based training in a broad range of clinical and professional skills. It is a key part of the undergraduate medical programme and allows students the opportunity to practice situations they will encounter in the real-world in a safe environment.

Centre director Dr Niki Newman says taking part in real-life scenarios using simulation technology also improves students' communication skills and teamwork.

Simulation Alex image
A student practises in the Simulation Centre.

A key part of the Simulation Centre 'team' was sophisticated human simulator 'Alex'.

“Alex has been a much used and tolerant 'patient' for 10 years allowing students, both individually and in teams, to practise entire consultations: from initial presentation and assessment, through to diagnosis and patient management.

Over the years Alex has also been an integral part of our collaborative training of non-university Simulation Centre users such as the CDHB's Department of Anaesthesia,'' Newman says.

Dr Newman says simulation is a field of education that is rapidly expanding within medical and other health professional programmes.

To be successful the Centre has fostered close relationships with academic and clinical colleagues who teach in the undergraduate medical programme and University of Otago, Christchurch postgraduate courses such as the Master of Nursing Science.

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