RSU Has Opened New Simulated Surgical Unit for Training Prospective Doctors
Earlier this week, the Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) Medical Education Technology Centre (METC) opened a new simulated surgical unit. Here, students will be able to learn and improve a wide range of medical skills.
The construction of the operating rooms in the unit started in May and RSU has invested a total of EUR 864,000 into the project. The newly built premises include an operating room, surgical and laparoscopic skills training rooms, as well as rooms for microsurgery and patient preparation.
‘The surgical unit is among the most modern medical training facilities of its kind in Europe.
It is not only an excellent place for students to learn and improve their skills in conditions that mimic a real setting as closely as possible, but it is also an investment in patient safety, because now the young specialists that will work in operating rooms in the future will be more qualified,’
explains RSU Rector Professor Aigars Pētersons.
In the surgical skills training room, the prospective doctors will be able to improve their skills in surgical suturing and caring for wounds. In the laparoscopic skills training room, students will have the opportunity to upgrade their skills by using a laparoscopic task simulator, an arthroscopy simulator, and a virtual reality laparoscopy simulator equipped with a virtual reality headset. This simulator shows an operating room in 3D, including an operating room team, the patient, equipment, and sounds that match those that would be heard in a real situation.
As part of their anaesthesiology course, students will learn in-depth skills to assess respiratory function, intubation, calculate anaesthetic drugs and monitor vital signs in the operating room. A talking and moving patient simulator will allow students to practice positioning patients and adjust the operating table. In the microsurgery skills room, ophthalmology residents will have the opportunity to explore eye microsurgery.
In order to create a simulated environment as similar as possible to the real world, the operating theatre is equipped with equipment and furniture used in medical institutions.
‘We consulted with practising surgeons and operating room nurses when designing these training facilities. We studied how operating rooms are designed at the Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, Riga East Clinical University Hospital, and various hospitals abroad,’ explains Ieva Šlēziņa, Director of the RSU METC.
As the simulated operating rooms are designed for use by students, they are equipped with furniture and computer equipment to ensure a comfortable and suitable learning environment.
This simulated surgical unit will complement the existing facilities at the METC. The RSU METC is already the largest centre in the Baltics that provides professionals from various healthcare sectors to upgrade and develop their skills.
