Innovative Technology at Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation < Yale School of Medicine

Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation (YCHS) recently hosted the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and Yale Health Sciences IT Educational Technology & Innovation (ETI) team on a tour of the center. The goal was to showcase the latest advancements in health care simulation technology. The ETI team, co-led by Kathleen Ludewig Omollo, director of health IT strategy & portfolio, and Jaideep Talwalkar, MD, associate dean for educational technology and innovation, collaborates with faculty, staff, and students to enhance teaching and learning and increase learner engagement through the use of technology.

Lisa Zhang, MD, instructor of emergency medicine and the YCHS’s assistant director of education technology and innovation, and others on the YCHS team, which is led by Executive Director and Professor of Emergency Medicine Leigh Evans, MD, provided ETI members with demonstrations of the simulation environment. The ETI team was exposed to an array of high-fidelity manikins and clinical equipment, as well as Virtual Reality (VR) simulation, where the team experienced firsthand YCHS’s innovative use of technology with VR headsets.

The potential of cutting-edge simulation technology is transforming medical education and training. The use of this technology highlights YCHS’s commitment to maintain fidelity and functionality in simulation to prepare future health care professionals.

“It was energizing for the team to see how YCHS is using all of these technologies to give learners an authentic life-like space to practice safely as they learn before applying those skills directly with patients,” said Omollo. “I appreciated hearing from the YCHS staff about which technologies they use for which learning scenarios. It was impactful to see the mock clinical spaces they use for manikins versus the open rooms with VR headsets and task trainers. I’m intrigued by their plans to unify remote learners with their own headsets in the same VR simulation.”

Talwalkar shared, “I’ve collaborated with YCHS on educational projects in the past and I remain impressed by their continuous efforts to improve and innovate. Our team’s visit was a valuable opportunity to gather insights and inspiration, and to further ETI’s and YCHS’s collective goal to improve medical education.”

Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation mission statement: Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation (YCHS), a state-of-the-art center, strives to provide members of Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS) and Yale School of Medicine (YSM) communities with a safe, ideal learning environment that fosters self-reflection, mutual respect and an integrated, interdisciplinary team spirit in order to optimize health care delivery and engender a culture committed to patient safety.