The Simulation and Skills Labs:
The Skills Lab is a multipurpose room in which students learn and hone their clinical examination and clinical procedure proficiency. Several types of task trainers are used to allow students to practice a specific skill, such as suturing, IV insertion, intubation, central venous line placement, arterial blood gas collection, etc. Task trainers are mannequins that are designed to replicate a specific anatomical region (arm, torso, etc) and allow students to learn the steps of clinical procedures. The goal of learning with a task trainer is to familiarize a learner with the equipment and skill first, so that when a real life situation occurs, the learner already has the knowledge and dexterity necessary to integrate it into a more complex situation. Skills training allows a learner to work at their own pace and master a skill through deliberate practice.
Virtual Simulation: The Skills Lab also hosts a number of software based simulation programs and tutorials designed to enhance clinical decision making and guide skill development. These include a number of virtual patient simulations (interactive computer-based patient encounters) as well as interactive tutorials focused on specific skills such as heart and lung auscultation, EKG, and imaging interpretation.