A new clinical training facility worth more than $1 million has been launched at the Riverland General Hospital in Berri.
The facility is run by Flinders Rural Health South Australia and offers medical and nursing students the opportunity to practice their skills in a range of simulated medical scenarios before they enter the workplace.
The Berri Clinical Simulation Centre also provides existing doctors and nurses the opportunity to further develop and refine their clinical skills.
Professor Jennene Greenhill, Director of Flinders Rural Health South Australia, says the Simulation Centre will enable students and clinicians working at the Riverland General Hospital to maintain state of the art clinical skills which are needed in rural health services.
“Flinders University is at the cutting edge of clinical simulation nationally, and is a world trailblazer in rural and regional health education,” says Professor Greenhill.
“This new Simulation Centre will expand the reach and impact of our first Simulation Centre that was opened in 2007 in Renmark.
“It will also further Flinders’ commitment to making a genuine difference to the health and wellbeing of rural and remote communities by training our doctors and nurses in meeting their specific needs,” says Professor Greenhill.
Staff and students who use the Simulation Centre will have access to lifelike manikins that can breathe, talk and bleed, as well as two-way mirrors and video recording equipment so that they can reflect on, and evaluate, their performance.
The Simulation Centre was officially opened by Senator the Honourable Anne Ruston, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, on 4 August 2017.
The opening of the Centre featured a fascinating demonstration of ‘moulage’ by Sarah Boyd, Flinders’ Lecturer in Rural Interprofessional Education.
Moulage is the art of applying mock injuries to manikins to add realism to simulated training scenarios and allow students to practice medical procedures.
Ms Boyd has published a book on the subject, entitled Moulage – Making Simulations Come Alive on a Budget, which was also launched at the Centre opening.
The book contains recipes for manufacturing artificial blood, skin, bruising, lacerations and burns using household ingredients, and has been made available to all staff and students at Riverland General Hospital.
Funding for the Berri Clinical Simulation Centre was obtained from the Australian Government Department of Health.
News of the launch featured on ABC Riverland, 5RM, Magic931 and in The Murray Pioneer.
http://www.murraypioneer.com.au/simulate-to-succeed-for-local-clinicians/