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MCOM OFFICE OF SIMULATION IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY

About Us

The Simulation in Medicine and Surgery (SIMS) Center is over 23,000 square feet of space dedicated to hands-on and tele-simulation learning opportunities for all members of the healthcare team.

Simulation events are incorporated into intra- and extra-curricula, including tracks and special programs, student clubs and organizations, simulated mass-casualty incidents, and community outreach events.

Our modalities include:

Standardized Patients (in-person and telehealth visits)
Immersion rooms (allow students to immerse into the environment in which they will be practicing)
Simulation Rooms (allow students to simulate medical experiences in a safe learning environment)

Features:

Task trainers for ultrasonography, vascular access, sterile surgical technique, IVs, injections, auscultation, suturing and operating room etiquette.

Practice resuscitation techniques, intubation, hemostasis and advanced skills such as cricothyrotomy.

Skill sets needed for general surgery to include emergency airways, trauma laparotomies, and procedural and wound care capabilities.
Immersion rooms will allow students to be immersed into the environment in which they will be practicing whether that is a hospital, clinic, rural, outdoor, or urban setting. All can be created to allow students the ability to train in any environment.
Life-like mannikins allow students to have the realism of caring for a patient in safe learning environments. Can be utilized for team-based trainings, including ER, ICU, medical-surgical, birthing and more.

Virtual Reality modules and high-fidelity electronic manikins help train critical thinking skills using simulated patients.

Services:

Curriculum Integration
Student Research
Special Events
SIM Scholars Interest Group
Interprofessional Education Events

Specific Features:

Exam Rooms – 16 exam rooms that will be utilized for standardized patient events.

ER Sim lab with capabilities for up to 8 bays/beds.

Labor and Delivery Sim Lab
Ambulance Ramp and Entrance - have a bay for ambulances to pull into for multi-agency training. MCOM will be working with local EMS/Fire to develop interprofessional education training events.

Simulated Trauma Bays - Complete with tv’s for displaying images/vital signs and more, disposable medical kits, PPE, code carts. Trauma Bays can be split back into individual exam rooms with glass divider walls.

Simulated Operating Rooms - Complete with OR lights, disposable medical kits, mayo stands, PPE. OR Rooms can be split back into individual exam rooms with glass dividing walls.
Inventory System

Simulation Prep Room

Immersion Rooms – allow students to be immersed into the environment in which they will be practicing, whether in a hospital, clinic, rural, outdoor, or urban setting. All can be created to allow students to train in any environment.

Learning Lab –filled with task trainers to allow students to gain additional practice on their own time.

State of the Art Equipment - New equipment, including immersion rooms, virtual reality, portable butterfly ultrasound machines, SimMoms OBGYN electronic manikin, Lifecast mannikins, iSimulate, vimedix and many other task trainers.

STANDARDIZED PATIENT ENCOUNTERS

Specially trained actors, Standardized Patients, accurately portray the role of a patient with a specific medical condition. They provide students with direct human interaction in a safe learning environment. Performing a competent physical exam, taking a thorough medical history, and building a rapport with patients are fundamental clinical skills that all graduates should possess. RVU’s Standardized Patient Program’s primary objective is to ensure that all graduates possess these essential skills. Feedback is given by faculty, staff, as well as the standardized Patient Educators, and is valued by students in their health care education.

Click here to learn more about becoming a standardized patient

Additional Resources

Graduate Medical Education

Military Medicine Program

Office of Research and Scholarly Activity

Office of Simulation in Medicine and Surgery

Tracks and Special Programs

Ultrasound Program

RESOURCES

Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine has developed several specialized educational tracks and programs to further develop the education of interested students. These range from 3.5-year-long tracks to single-semester elective courses.

Office of Research and Scholarly Activity at RVU

Student research/scholarly activity is a vital part of health provider education. Research enhances critical thinking skills and increases medical knowledge, as well as preparing students for graduate medical education. Therefore, all students are encouraged to participate in research activities while at RVU.

During their third and fourth years of medical school, students work on clinical clerkships, under the guidance of preceptors. RVU students have clerkships available to them through Colorado and the other Mountain West states.