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High-tech computer and robotic simulators are changing the way that obstetricians and gynecologists learn and maintain their skills. Now a new state-of-the-art simulation center in Tampa is changing the way academic medical centers offer this training.
With its modern architecture and gleaming glass exterior, the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, located in downtown Tampa, looks like the type of building that houses cutting-edge technology.
The 90,000 square-foot-facility includes a surgical skills lab with more than 30 operating stations, an on-site tissue bank, a robotics suite with two da Vinci robots (S and Si), a synthetic cadaver, a 64-slice CT scanner, and a hybrid operating room. And those are just some of the offerings in the Surgical and Interventional Training Center.
The Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS), which is affiliated with the University of South Florida, houses three other centers: the Virtual Patient Care Center, the Education Center, and the Tampa Bay Research and Innovation Center.
But it’s not the technology alone that sets CAMLS apart, said Dr. Stuart Hart, an ob.gyn. and urogynecologist who is the medical director for the Tampa Bay Research and Innovation Center.
"What makes it so unique is the tight integration among the various centers at CAMLS," he said.
The center, which opened in February 2012, has a lot of overlap among its education, training, and simulation programs. Anyone who comes to CAMLS for continuing medical education can get a sense of that integration, said Dr. Hart, who also oversees the minimally invasive gynecologic surgery courses.
For instance, ob.gyns. might have the chance to practice their skills on a synthetic cadaver in the Surgical and Interventional Training Center. Then they could take a trip upstairs to the Virtual Patient Care Center, where they could continue working on high-fidelity human patient simulators and laparoscopic surgical simulators.
"That’s what makes us so exciting," Dr. Hart said.
Dr. Robert W. Yelverton, an ob.gyn. in Tampa, first became involved with CAMLS while the center was still under construction. Dr. Yelverton, who at the time was the chief medical officer for a large ob.gyn. group in central Florida, was looking for a place where his physicians could get simulator training to improve the quality and safety of robotic and minimally invasive gynecological procedures.
For example, some of their physicians hadn’t received training during residency on how to examine the bladder with a cystoscope following a gynecologic procedure. In the past, urologists had typically been the ones performing cystoscopy, so many ob.gyns weren’t trained. But with those roles changing, Dr. Yelverton wanted his physicians to be able to learn and perfect the procedure on a simulator, rather than on real patients in the operating room. With the bladder simulator at CAMLS, physicians were able to perform cystoscopy hundreds of times and see virtually every abnormal legion in a realistic fashion, he said.
"This is a huge attraction for physicians who really are looking for improvement in ways that they can perfect their surgical skills, particularly those that were introduced after they were in training," Dr. Yelverton said.
Dr. Yelverton, who is the chairman for the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District XII, is continuing to work with CAMLS to set up training for ACOG’s Florida fellows as part of their educational meetings.
He said he expects many local physicians, and even some from other parts of the country, will want to try out the center. One of the attractions, he said, is the ability to conduct team training. For instance, a team of obstetricians and nurses can simulate emergencies, from shoulder dystocia to postpartum hemorrhage, in a mock labor and delivery suite.
Practicing physicians aren’t the only ones who can hone their skills at CAMLS. The center is also available for medical students and residents, as well as pharmacy and nursing students. The certified registered nurse anesthetist program is permanently housed in the building.
Even graduate business and engineering students drop in at CAMLS as part of their work with the Tampa Bay Research and Innovation Center. Coming to CAMLS means that engineering and business students get the chance to sit down with physicians and learn about the clinical problems driving the need for new technologies and devices, Dr. Hart said.
As part of the innovation work, Dr. Hart often presents a problem to the engineering students and then brings them to the operating room to see a simulated surgery first hand. The students then come up ideas for different devices that could help solve the problem.
"We go in with problems," he said. "We don’t go in and say, ‘I have an idea for a medical device.’ That’s actually the last thing we want to do."
As part of that process, Dr. Hart and his colleagues also work closely with industry on device development and commercialization. And the device and pharmaceutical industry is also a presence in other parts of CAMLS. Medical device and pharmaceutical companies come to the center to train their sales forces and their clients, said Deborah Sutherland, Ph.D., the CEO of CAMLS.
One of the reasons that CAMLS is able to offer its services to groups and individuals who are not affiliated with the University of South Florida is that the center is part of a not-for-profit corporation that includes USF Health.
CAMLS is run on a business model, not a traditional academic model, Dr. Sutherland said. CAMLS does not receive any financial support from the University of South Florida. All of the revenue comes instead from user fees.
"That is very unique because most simulation centers that you see nationally are supported by a clinical department," she said.
That type of approach may make CAMLS the envy of other simulation centers around the country, said Dr. Carol A. Aschenbrener, the chief medical education officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Running a simulation center is costly, with the annual price tag ranging anywhere between $50,000 and $2.5 million, depending on the scope of the center and the staffing levels, she said. A 2010 survey conducted by the AAMC shows that most of these centers are funded either by a medical school or a teaching hospital. With those organizations under significant financial pressure, many are looking carefully at other ways to pay the bills. A handful of centers are actively developing new business models, she said, but it’s early on in the process. "So people are watching the South Florida center very closely," Dr. Aschenbrener said.
High-tech computer and robotic simulators are changing the way that obstetricians and gynecologists learn and maintain their skills. Now a new state-of-the-art simulation center in Tampa is changing the way academic medical centers offer this training.
With its modern architecture and gleaming glass exterior, the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, located in downtown Tampa, looks like the type of building that houses cutting-edge technology.
The 90,000 square-foot-facility includes a surgical skills lab with more than 30 operating stations, an on-site tissue bank, a robotics suite with two da Vinci robots (S and Si), a synthetic cadaver, a 64-slice CT scanner, and a hybrid operating room. And those are just some of the offerings in the Surgical and Interventional Training Center.
The Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS), which is affiliated with the University of South Florida, houses three other centers: the Virtual Patient Care Center, the Education Center, and the Tampa Bay Research and Innovation Center.
But it’s not the technology alone that sets CAMLS apart, said Dr. Stuart Hart, an ob.gyn. and urogynecologist who is the medical director for the Tampa Bay Research and Innovation Center.
"What makes it so unique is the tight integration among the various centers at CAMLS," he said.
The center, which opened in February 2012, has a lot of overlap among its education, training, and simulation programs. Anyone who comes to CAMLS for continuing medical education can get a sense of that integration, said Dr. Hart, who also oversees the minimally invasive gynecologic surgery courses.
For instance, ob.gyns. might have the chance to practice their skills on a synthetic cadaver in the Surgical and Interventional Training Center. Then they could take a trip upstairs to the Virtual Patient Care Center, where they could continue working on high-fidelity human patient simulators and laparoscopic surgical simulators.
"That’s what makes us so exciting," Dr. Hart said.
Dr. Robert W. Yelverton, an ob.gyn. in Tampa, first became involved with CAMLS while the center was still under construction. Dr. Yelverton, who at the time was the chief medical officer for a large ob.gyn. group in central Florida, was looking for a place where his physicians could get simulator training to improve the quality and safety of robotic and minimally invasive gynecological procedures.
For example, some of their physicians hadn’t received training during residency on how to examine the bladder with a cystoscope following a gynecologic procedure. In the past, urologists had typically been the ones performing cystoscopy, so many ob.gyns weren’t trained. But with those roles changing, Dr. Yelverton wanted his physicians to be able to learn and perfect the procedure on a simulator, rather than on real patients in the operating room. With the bladder simulator at CAMLS, physicians were able to perform cystoscopy hundreds of times and see virtually every abnormal legion in a realistic fashion, he said.
"This is a huge attraction for physicians who really are looking for improvement in ways that they can perfect their surgical skills, particularly those that were introduced after they were in training," Dr. Yelverton said.
Dr. Yelverton, who is the chairman for the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District XII, is continuing to work with CAMLS to set up training for ACOG’s Florida fellows as part of their educational meetings.
He said he expects many local physicians, and even some from other parts of the country, will want to try out the center. One of the attractions, he said, is the ability to conduct team training. For instance, a team of obstetricians and nurses can simulate emergencies, from shoulder dystocia to postpartum hemorrhage, in a mock labor and delivery suite.
Practicing physicians aren’t the only ones who can hone their skills at CAMLS. The center is also available for medical students and residents, as well as pharmacy and nursing students. The certified registered nurse anesthetist program is permanently housed in the building.
Even graduate business and engineering students drop in at CAMLS as part of their work with the Tampa Bay Research and Innovation Center. Coming to CAMLS means that engineering and business students get the chance to sit down with physicians and learn about the clinical problems driving the need for new technologies and devices, Dr. Hart said.
As part of the innovation work, Dr. Hart often presents a problem to the engineering students and then brings them to the operating room to see a simulated surgery first hand. The students then come up ideas for different devices that could help solve the problem.
"We go in with problems," he said. "We don’t go in and say, ‘I have an idea for a medical device.’ That’s actually the last thing we want to do."
As part of that process, Dr. Hart and his colleagues also work closely with industry on device development and commercialization. And the device and pharmaceutical industry is also a presence in other parts of CAMLS. Medical device and pharmaceutical companies come to the center to train their sales forces and their clients, said Deborah Sutherland, Ph.D., the CEO of CAMLS.
One of the reasons that CAMLS is able to offer its services to groups and individuals who are not affiliated with the University of South Florida is that the center is part of a not-for-profit corporation that includes USF Health.
CAMLS is run on a business model, not a traditional academic model, Dr. Sutherland said. CAMLS does not receive any financial support from the University of South Florida. All of the revenue comes instead from user fees.
"That is very unique because most simulation centers that you see nationally are supported by a clinical department," she said.
That type of approach may make CAMLS the envy of other simulation centers around the country, said Dr. Carol A. Aschenbrener, the chief medical education officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Running a simulation center is costly, with the annual price tag ranging anywhere between $50,000 and $2.5 million, depending on the scope of the center and the staffing levels, she said. A 2010 survey conducted by the AAMC shows that most of these centers are funded either by a medical school or a teaching hospital. With those organizations under significant financial pressure, many are looking carefully at other ways to pay the bills. A handful of centers are actively developing new business models, she said, but it’s early on in the process. "So people are watching the South Florida center very closely," Dr. Aschenbrener said.
High-tech computer and robotic simulators are changing the way that obstetricians and gynecologists learn and maintain their skills. Now a new state-of-the-art simulation center in Tampa is changing the way academic medical centers offer this training.
With its modern architecture and gleaming glass exterior, the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, located in downtown Tampa, looks like the type of building that houses cutting-edge technology.
The 90,000 square-foot-facility includes a surgical skills lab with more than 30 operating stations, an on-site tissue bank, a robotics suite with two da Vinci robots (S and Si), a synthetic cadaver, a 64-slice CT scanner, and a hybrid operating room. And those are just some of the offerings in the Surgical and Interventional Training Center.
The Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS), which is affiliated with the University of South Florida, houses three other centers: the Virtual Patient Care Center, the Education Center, and the Tampa Bay Research and Innovation Center.
But it’s not the technology alone that sets CAMLS apart, said Dr. Stuart Hart, an ob.gyn. and urogynecologist who is the medical director for the Tampa Bay Research and Innovation Center.
"What makes it so unique is the tight integration among the various centers at CAMLS," he said.
The center, which opened in February 2012, has a lot of overlap among its education, training, and simulation programs. Anyone who comes to CAMLS for continuing medical education can get a sense of that integration, said Dr. Hart, who also oversees the minimally invasive gynecologic surgery courses.
For instance, ob.gyns. might have the chance to practice their skills on a synthetic cadaver in the Surgical and Interventional Training Center. Then they could take a trip upstairs to the Virtual Patient Care Center, where they could continue working on high-fidelity human patient simulators and laparoscopic surgical simulators.
"That’s what makes us so exciting," Dr. Hart said.
Dr. Robert W. Yelverton, an ob.gyn. in Tampa, first became involved with CAMLS while the center was still under construction. Dr. Yelverton, who at the time was the chief medical officer for a large ob.gyn. group in central Florida, was looking for a place where his physicians could get simulator training to improve the quality and safety of robotic and minimally invasive gynecological procedures.
For example, some of their physicians hadn’t received training during residency on how to examine the bladder with a cystoscope following a gynecologic procedure. In the past, urologists had typically been the ones performing cystoscopy, so many ob.gyns weren’t trained. But with those roles changing, Dr. Yelverton wanted his physicians to be able to learn and perfect the procedure on a simulator, rather than on real patients in the operating room. With the bladder simulator at CAMLS, physicians were able to perform cystoscopy hundreds of times and see virtually every abnormal legion in a realistic fashion, he said.
"This is a huge attraction for physicians who really are looking for improvement in ways that they can perfect their surgical skills, particularly those that were introduced after they were in training," Dr. Yelverton said.
Dr. Yelverton, who is the chairman for the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District XII, is continuing to work with CAMLS to set up training for ACOG’s Florida fellows as part of their educational meetings.
He said he expects many local physicians, and even some from other parts of the country, will want to try out the center. One of the attractions, he said, is the ability to conduct team training. For instance, a team of obstetricians and nurses can simulate emergencies, from shoulder dystocia to postpartum hemorrhage, in a mock labor and delivery suite.
Practicing physicians aren’t the only ones who can hone their skills at CAMLS. The center is also available for medical students and residents, as well as pharmacy and nursing students. The certified registered nurse anesthetist program is permanently housed in the building.
Even graduate business and engineering students drop in at CAMLS as part of their work with the Tampa Bay Research and Innovation Center. Coming to CAMLS means that engineering and business students get the chance to sit down with physicians and learn about the clinical problems driving the need for new technologies and devices, Dr. Hart said.
As part of the innovation work, Dr. Hart often presents a problem to the engineering students and then brings them to the operating room to see a simulated surgery first hand. The students then come up ideas for different devices that could help solve the problem.
"We go in with problems," he said. "We don’t go in and say, ‘I have an idea for a medical device.’ That’s actually the last thing we want to do."
As part of that process, Dr. Hart and his colleagues also work closely with industry on device development and commercialization. And the device and pharmaceutical industry is also a presence in other parts of CAMLS. Medical device and pharmaceutical companies come to the center to train their sales forces and their clients, said Deborah Sutherland, Ph.D., the CEO of CAMLS.
One of the reasons that CAMLS is able to offer its services to groups and individuals who are not affiliated with the University of South Florida is that the center is part of a not-for-profit corporation that includes USF Health.
CAMLS is run on a business model, not a traditional academic model, Dr. Sutherland said. CAMLS does not receive any financial support from the University of South Florida. All of the revenue comes instead from user fees.
"That is very unique because most simulation centers that you see nationally are supported by a clinical department," she said.
That type of approach may make CAMLS the envy of other simulation centers around the country, said Dr. Carol A. Aschenbrener, the chief medical education officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Running a simulation center is costly, with the annual price tag ranging anywhere between $50,000 and $2.5 million, depending on the scope of the center and the staffing levels, she said. A 2010 survey conducted by the AAMC shows that most of these centers are funded either by a medical school or a teaching hospital. With those organizations under significant financial pressure, many are looking carefully at other ways to pay the bills. A handful of centers are actively developing new business models, she said, but it’s early on in the process. "So people are watching the South Florida center very closely," Dr. Aschenbrener said.
