The Israel Center for Medical Simulation: A Paradigm for Cultural Change in Medical Education

Abstract

Simulation-based medical education (SBME) is a rapidly growing field, as is illustrated by the increased development of simulation centers worldwide. SBME is becoming a powerful force in addressing the need to increase patient safety through quality-care training. Recognizing the benefits of SBME, increasing numbers of bodies involved in medical and health care education and training are establishing simulation centers worldwide. The general model of most facilities focuses on a single simulation modality or a specific branch of medicine or health care, limiting their overall impact on patient safety and quality of care across the health care systems. MSR, the Israel Center for Medical Simulation, is a comprehensive, national, multimodality, multidisciplinary medical simulation center dedicated to enhancing hands-on medical education, performance assessment, patient safety, and quality of care by improving clinical and communication skills. The center uses an "error-driven" educational approach, which recognizes that errors provide an opportunity to create a unique beneficial learning experience. The authors present the Israeli experience as an alternative model, and describe the impact of the MSR model on the Israeli medical community during four years of activity. They also describe the opportunities this model has opened towards changing the culture of medical education and patient safety within Israel Although this model may require modification when implemented in other medical systems, it highlights important lessons regarding the power of SBME in triggering and bringing about cultural changes in traditional medical education.

Comparison of a Multimedia Simulator to a Human Model for Teaching FAST Exam Image Interpretation and Image Acquisition

“…[5][6][7][8] Multiple authors have suggested the use of simulation in teaching and assessing resident competency in procedures, hypothesizing that it improves patient safety and the quality of care. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Although the best model for practical FAST instruction has not been determined, the requirement to incorporate bedside ultrasound (US) education in emergency medicine curricula has resulted in the development of US simulation software. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of multimedia simulation in teaching FAST image interpretation, 17 and no studies have examined its effectiveness in teaching image acquisition.…”

What Have We Learned About Interventions to Reduce Medical Errors?

“…Similar studies have found positive results (81). Although VR laparoscopy is resource-intensive, simulation is widely used for skill acquisition (79) and can be a dominant mode for medical education (100).…”

The Role and Validity of Surgical Simulation

“…35 Dynamic variation during emergency scenarios can be used to test the integration of knowledge (e.g., sudden loss of airway scenarios in a polytrauma patient in the Acute Trauma Life Support course moulage). 36 From an ethical point of view, Ziv et al 37 have argued that doctors have a moral imperative to ensure patients get the highest quality of care and should not be treated by those who have not shown that they can perform the task safely and reliably. Such thinking will inevitably lead to its increased use in training and examination.…”