The medical undergraduates of the Faculty of Medicine SUSL are expected to acquire generic and specific skills and competencies at different stages of their training programme. The opportunities available during their hospital-based training need to be enhanced by providing opportunities to acquire some of those skills in a Skills Lab & Simulation Centre. This facility will provide a conducive environment for the students to acquire and refine essential clinical and procedural skills, thereby better preparing them for real-world patient care scenarios.

Objectives

1. Provide an opportunity to learn some procedures on manikins and simulators and acquire certain level of competence before they attempt to perform (under supervision) those procedures on patients which is an essential step in ensuring patient safety.
2. Provide a conducive environment to the teachers and trainers to impart certain skills to large groups of students under controlled conditions in the Skills Lab, which will facilitate integration of those skills to the curriculum seamlessly without having to totally depend on the availability of appropriate patients.
3. To ensure that all the students in a particular stage of training have equal opportunities to acquire those skills, ensuring uniformity in training.
4. Provide an opportunity to the needy students to have extra training/practice of some procedures if they so wish at a time convenient to them with prior approval.
5. Provides a venue for assessing students’ performance avoiding the discomfort to the patients.
6. Foster collaboration and teamwork by incorporating interprofessional education and encourage medical students to work/train alongside students from allied healthcare professions. This centre could be made available for training of allied healthcare professionals (Nurses, Physiotherapists etc.)

Development Plan

1. Submission of a proposal to the Faculty Board to obtain approval to name the centre as “Skills Lab & Simulation Centre”. (Already done at the Faculty Board held on 20th Feb.2024)
2. A sub-committee with a Coordinator at the Faculty Board to Coordinate the development and running of the Centre as been appointed

The sub-committee consist:

• Anatomy Dept. representative
• Physiology Dept representative
• Medicine Dept. representative
• Obs & Gyn Dept. representative
• Paediatrics Dept. representative
• Psychiatry Dept. representative
• Surgery Dept. representative
• Primary Care & Family Medicine representative
• Assistant Registrar