Posted on Sept. 6: Practice makes perfect at McMaster’s new clinical learning centre

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/CLC_1.jpg” caption=”Clinical Learning Centre”]Health sciences students starting school this week at McMaster University will have a unique set of simulated clinical experiences at their disposal in a new Clinical Learning Centre, where they can practice everything from interview skills to minimal access surgery without going near an actual patient.

“Just as airline pilots practice over and over with flight simulators, our students will be able to repeat and practice their clinical skills in a risk-free environment,” says John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the Faculty. “McMaster is known for having its students work with real patients from the very beginning of their program, and that's not going to change. But at the Clinical Learning Centre, for instance, a medical student can practice laparoscopic suturing 20 times in a row if necessary — something that's not possible with a live patient.”

The $1.1-million Clinical Learning Centre (CLC) will be used every day, providing approximately 840 health sciences students with the opportunity to train in programs such as medicine, nursing, midwifery, occupational therapy and physiotherapy.

The centre, a 4,700-square-foot facility located in the lower level of McMaster's Health Sciences Centre, includes 12 examination rooms equipped with two-way glass for observation by instructors and other students. It also includes a lab where computer simulation will be both developed and tested, forming the basis of electronic problem-based learning – the next generation of the world-famous McMaster method.

The Standardized Patient Program, which uses professional actors and make-up artists to create realistic injuries and clinical situations, was pioneered at McMaster 30 years ago and is now part of the CLC.

Medical students can practice the finely tuned eye/hand co-ordination skills needed for minimal access surgery on a “virtual reality surgical simulator” and their suturing skills on a “laparoscopic suturing simulator.”

Kelton said the creation of the Clinical Learning Centre is just one example of how McMaster's renowned MD program is undergoing transformation, as the first step in revising the curriculum in all health programs. “We are now the third largest medical school in Canada and we need to make sure our curriculum remains innovative,” he said.

“One of the unique aspects of the centre is that it's also a research lab funded by an additional $2-million Canada Research Chair, allowing us to study how expertise is created, and the impact on students who have these simulated clinical experiences,” says Susan Denburg, associate dean, academic. “Our whole approach with the CLC is to build more skilled and knowledgeable health professionals for the future.”

Cutlines: Photo 1: Dianne Cunningham, Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, left, tours the Clinical Learning Centre. Kathleen Howell, first-year medical student and standardized patient Lesly Adamson demonstrate a simulated clinical experience.

Photo 2: Standardized patient Yajaira Calero, third-year French and linguistics student, has casualty simulation make-up applied by Kim Eddy, also a standardized patient. Photos: Chantall Van Raay