The simulation training laboratory of the Vitebsk Medical College was opened on the basis of the regional clinical hospital
Simulation training is a mandatory component in the professional training of medical workers. Its demand is constantly growing, which is due to the need to ensure patient safety and quality medical care. The emergence of an important college department became possible within the framework of the loan agreement between the Republic of Belarus and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the modernization of the healthcare system of our country.
State figures and specialists attended the opening ceremony, whose active participation helped the educational institution to implement its plans. The director of the college, Valentina Zayats, noted that at all stages of the project, it was supported by members of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Yuri Derkach and Anatoly Shchastny, Rector of the Vitebsk State Medical University. The administration of the regional clinical hospital, which is interested in training highly qualified mid-level specialists, provided great assistance. For example, the premises for the laboratory were provided free of charge.
As Zhanna Maksimenko, head of the medical college's practice, said, the laboratory for students majoring in "General Medicine" and "Nursing" consists of three interconnected spacious rooms with individual color schemes. In the training hall for resuscitation and surgery, the walls are painted purple, pediatrics and obstetrics – pink, therapy and manipulation techniques – green. All of them are fully equipped with state-of-the-art simulators.
Today, the standards for providing medical care are very high, and the technological sophistication of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures is constantly increasing. This requires mid-level medical personnel to have an appropriate level of practical skills. This can be achieved through simulators of varying degrees of realism.
Zhanna Maksimenko draws attention to the software and hardware complex for training manipulation standards (there are 2 of them in the laboratory).
— A student can watch a video with audio accompaniment, then perform the manipulation independently on the table. Their actions are recorded by two video cameras, so there is an opportunity to watch and evaluate their own actions. This is how the telementor works in test mode. In addition, it can be used in remote examination mode. The teacher watches the video recording online, sitting in the college's teaching room or directly here in the laboratory, and evaluates the student's actions, — explains Zhanna Valeryevna.
The head of the medical college's practice also highlights the "Irina" childbirth simulator, with which one can "communicate" interactively. There are resuscitation manikins equipped with personal computers that allow monitoring the progress of resuscitation measures. There are also many mechanical trainer-manikins for internal and intraosseous injections.
The training process is organized as follows. Training groups arrive at the laboratory for practical sessions and practice previously acquired skills. The simulator is the final stage of working with a particular clinical situation. Students make decisions independently and prescribe diagnostic procedures. The instructor does not interfere in this process, observing from the sidelines, including through video cameras. At the end of the session, errors are identified and analyzed using screens.
In the conditions of simulation training, the emphasis is not only on mastering individual manipulations and bringing skills to automatism. Here, students are taught to act in a team, develop safe forms of professional behavior, and the ability to communicate with the patient, emphasized Zhanna Maksimenko.