Honing Skills for Health Care Education and Patient Care

Published on Friday, October 25, 2024

By: Oheneba Boadum, MD, PhD

The Simulation and Interprofessional Education Center (SIEC) plays a crucial role in preparing health care professionals for real-world challenges. As an essential component of modern health care education, SIEC offers a safe, controlled environment where students and practitioners can hone their skills using state-of-the-art technology.

Our center features high-fidelity manikins, virtual and augmented reality tools, and task trainers that simulate diverse clinical scenarios. These resources allow learners to perform complex procedures and make decisions without risking patient safety, helping them build confidence and competence.

We have trainees coming from almost every department in UMMC, and externally, such as American Medical Response, Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency, and paramedic students from local colleges. As we strive towards improving patient safety, we are happy to work with academic departments, and healthcare professionals to identify, develop, and incorporate effective simulation-based methods into their curriculum.

As the director of the center, I lead a team of dedicated professionals with a rich and diverse background in health care, education, emergency medical services, and research. Together, we oversee the education and training activities and initiatives across multiple health care disciplines. Our mission includes not only training but also research and innovation in simulation education. We actively encourage the development of new training scenarios and support research initiatives that can lead to publishable scholarly work. 

By providing realistic simulated experiences and promoting interprofessional collaboration, SIEC aims to improve patient safety and healthcare outcomes. Our efforts play a significant role in UMMC's commitment to excellence in health care education and patient care.