Simulation Center
PCOM South Georgia
The Simulation Center at PCOM South Georgia allows graduate and medical students to develop essential skills in clinical practice, patient care, surgery and more.
The brand new, state-of-the-art facility provides learners with opportunities to practice
diagnosis and treatment techniques prior to caring for real patients. Advanced patient
mannequins, virtual simulations and standardized patients provide varied, dynamic
training situations. Every session can be recorded and reviewed by learners, faculty
and staff, contributing to a supportive learning environment.
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Contact us
Brian G. Mann, EdD, PA-C
Chief of Simulation
brianma1@pcom.edu
Danny K. Opperman, MBA, NRP, CHSE, CHSOS
Director of Clinical Simulation Education
dannyop@pcom.edu
JoAnn Willette
Manager of Clinical Simulation
joannwi@pcom.edu
Center Details
Standardized Patient Exam Rooms
In the patient exam rooms, learners engage in doctor-standardized patient encounters.
This allows student doctors the opportunity to practice their clinical and humanistic
skills.
Standardized patients are trained to document the skills of learners and to provide them with honest and
constructive feedback based on clinical performance. The patients portray a medical
scenario the same way for each learner who examines them. During an encounter, learners
take patients' histories, perform appropriate physical examinations and then provide
patients with corresponding assessments and treatment plans.
The PCOM South Georgia Simulation Center's standardized patient area has six exam
rooms. Each room is designed to be an accurate representation of what the learners
will see in the “real world.” Each room is also equipped with adjustable osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) tables.
Faculty can watch the patient encounters live from either the review room or the proctor
stations. Each exam room is equipped with two cameras and microphones. The audio and
video can be recorded to provide faculty with the opportunity to review performances
at a later date.
High Fidelity Simulated Patients
The Simulation Center primarily uses two full-body high-fidelity patient simulators
for most cases, in addition to one full-body obstetrical high-fidelity patient simulator,
one child high-fidelity patient simulator and one newborn high-fidelity patient simulator.
These high-fidelity patient simulators are a highly advanced medical simulation tools
used for healthcare training and education. The simulators closely resembles a human
patient in anatomy and physiology, allowing healthcare professionals to practice a
wide range of clinical skills and scenarios. The mannequins offer realistic physiological
responses, scenario-based training and data collection for feedback. They are used
to develop skills like CPR, intubation, and medication administration. The simulators
are also valuable for team training exercises, enhancing coordination and communication
among healthcare teams in simulated medical emergencies.
Simulation Rooms
The PCOM South Georgia Simulation Center is equipped with four versatile simulation
rooms to mimic any healthcare setting, such as a maternity room where learners can
practice multiple procedures, featuring a wireless birthing simulator with five fetal
heart sound locations, a highly articulated baby with various joint movements, and
an audible cry upon delivery. The patient simulator offers audible lung sounds, visible
chest rise and fall, and controllable pulses in eight locations connected to an electrocardiogram
monitor. Additionally, there is a neonate simulator with programmable mouth and eyes,
limb movement, ventilator support, heart and lung sounds, palpable pulses and seizure
simulation. The Simulation Center can also mimic an emergency room or intensive care
unit for various scenarios and features full monitoring equipment, communication systems
and fully-stocked crash carts.
Debriefing Area
After each simulation has concluded, learners are thoroughly debriefed in a separate
area from the simulation rooms. Debriefing rooms enable faculty and students to review
the simulation activity to discuss all aspects of the case.
Clinical Skills Lab
The skills lab is used to train students to perform various clinical procedures. Learners
may work individually or as part of a team to practice with different task trainers.
Task trainers include intubation airway trainers, lumbar puncture trainers, central
line trainers, femoral line trainers, IV arm trainers, atrial line trainers, breast
simulator trainers, adult CPR trainers, pediatric CPR trainers, infant CPR trainers,
female pelvic trainers, male pelvic trainers, suture pad trainers and surgical knot
tying practice.
Operating Room
The simulated operating room is fully equipped with a working operating table, oxygen,
suction, lights and a trauma simulator which provides learners with opportunities
to perform surgical-type procedures while also learning about the operating room environment.
Second-year students practice scrub procedures at the scrub sink prior to their operating
room rotations.
Within the Operating Room is the LAP Mentor, which is a virtual laparoscopic surgical
simulator which provides a complete training experience to learners of all levels
and across all disciplines including gynecology, urology and general surgery.
The FLS Laparoscopic Trainer System is a device for surgical residents and practicing
surgeons that facilitates the development of psychomotor skills and dexterity required
during the performance of basic laparoscopic surgery.
Control Room
The PCOM South Georgia Simulation Center, which has a total of two control areas strategically
located within it, provides a secluded area where faculty can monitor and evaluate
performances during simulated exercises as well as staff controlling the various simulators,
audio/video systems and lab equipment. Each room in the Simulation Center is equipped
with multiple cameras and microphones, allowing faculty and staff to manage, monitor,
record and evaluate each simulation and exam room.
Mobile Medical Simulation Lab
The mobile simulation lab is a teaching tool for trauma and pre-hospital care. The
lab resembles an ambulance and houses modern emergency equipment including vital monitors,
stretchers, splints, suctioning equipment, intubation equipment, simulated medications
and much more. In addition, equipment and patient mannequins found in the Simulation
Center can be moved into the mobile lab.
Emergency simulations are conducted inside and around the vehicle. Learners can practice
a variety of scenarios including cardiac arrest, childbirth, bone fractures, burns,
gunshot wounds, allergic reactions, overdoses and more.
The mobile lab is used to teach both PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia students
when it makes trips between Suwanee and Moultrie. It is also used during community
education events or training programs held in conjunction with area institutions and
emergency responder units.