Resembling an ambulance, the mobile laboratory allows PCOM Georgia students to learn how pre-hospital care operates.
A drive down Interstate 75 was the maiden voyage for PCOM Georgia’s Mobile Medical Simulation Lab which was recently outfitted as a training vehicle for healthcare students. The ambulance was en route to the August 6, 2019, ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house at PCOM South Georgia in Moultrie and illustrates the close relationship between the two PCOM campuses in Georgia.
The mobile lab, which looks like an ambulance minus the sirens, is a teaching tool for students seeking Medical Simulation certification. In addition, emergency simulations can be run inside the unit for both PCOM students and for training sessions that occur with paramedics, EMTS, hospitals and other institutions.
“This unit adds a whole new perspective to our simulation program,” said Jeff Adams, NREMT-P, BA, MS, Director of Medical Simulation for PCOM Georgia.
“We can incorporate pre-hospital care into the in-hospital care that we run in our Simulation Center. This allows the students to get an appreciation for what happens outside the hospital before the patients show up in the ER,” he said.
James Hogue, DO, FAAEM, FACEP, a clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine, is one of the faculty members who teaches in the Simulation Center and is the faculty advisor to the Emergency Medicine Club.
“We have worked through the years with Gwinnett County EMS to have access to an ambulance and we are grateful,” he said.
“Having our own ambulance allows us many more opportunities to get a sense of how pre-hospital care operates,” he said.
Georgians will find the lab on wheels transporting mannequins to such events as the Gwinnett Science, Engineering + Innovation Fair, used at various Trauma Days sponsored by area institutions in the state, and providing a heightened level of education for PCOM students.
Established in 2005, PCOM Georgia is a branch campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), a private, not-for-profit, accredited institution of higher education with a storied 125-year history dedicated to the healthcare professions. Located in Suwanee (Gwinnett County), PCOM Georgia offers doctoral degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy. Graduate degrees are offered in biomedical sciences, medical laboratory science and physician assistant studies. The campus joins PCOM South Georgia in Moultrie in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state. Emphasizing "a whole person" approach to care, PCOM Georgia focuses on educational excellence, interprofessional education and service to the community. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500. The campus is also home to the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center, an osteopathic manipulative medicine clinic, which is open to the public by appointment. For more information, visit pcomgeorgiahealth.org.
Jamesia Harrison, MS
Assistant Director, News and Media Relations
Email: jamesiaha@pcom.edu
Office: 678-225-7532 | Cell: 470-572-7558
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