Australia’s largest virtual hospital – the Centre for Anaesthesia Skills and Medical Simulation (CASMS) based at The University of Western Australia – is also the world’s busiest medical simulation centre.
The simulation centre allows healthcare workers and professionals – from paramedics to dentists and doctors – to undertake simulated medical scenarios from heart attacks and organ failures to anaesthetic crises and patient care.
The centre provides the ‘look and feel’ of a real hospital, including the use of sophisticated computerised mannequins, which can be programmed to present a range of health problems and physical attributes. Specialist audiovisual technology is used to record training and segments of vision are played-back in debriefing sessions.
The development and operations of CASMS – Three years of CASMS: the world’s busiest medical simulation centre - is detailed in the Medical Journal of Australia out this week.
In the past three years, more than 3,000 people – including medical, dental and nursing staff and trainees at all levels, defence force personnel, and pre-hospital care providers – have attended medical and nursing education courses at CASMS.
The Centre’s Clinical Director, Associate Professor Richard Riley said simulation training had achieved widespread acceptance, especially in the fields of anaesthesia, intensive care and emergency medicine.
“More recently, team training for pre-hospital and within-hospital medical response teams has become popular,” Professor Riley said.
“Medical simulation at CASMS facilitates the way new techniques are taught to health professionals in WA, and the centre is now recognised as a leader in medical simulation worldwide.”
“Simulation allows the participants to practice diagnosis, medical management and behavioural approaches in the care of acutely ill patients, with no risk to patient safety. Healthcare professionals are able to improve their confidence and skill levels in a quality controlled environment,” Professor Riley said.
A diverse range of courses have been conducted at CASMS, including medical crisis management, resuscitation and advanced life support, anaesthetic and medical emergencies in general and dental practices. Short courses in difficult airway management, communication skills, and management of cardiac arrhythmias, central venous, intravenous and urinary catheterisation have also been well attended.
The Centre for Anaesthesia Skills and Medical Simulation is an integral part of the Clinical Training & Education Centre (CTEC) based at The University of Western Australia. CTEC provides training opportunities for health professionals to enhance the quality and outcomes of patient care. CTEC incorporates world class medical training facilities with advanced audiovisual technology, providing both basic and advanced medical and surgical training.
CTEC represents an unincorporated joint venture between UWA, Department of Health (Western Australia), Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Royal College of Surgeons of England and The Hill Surgical Foundation.
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