UNMC unveiled a $118.9 million health care simulation center on Monday to propel major changes in education of students in the health professions; goal to improve competency, reduce errors
UNMC said the Global Center will transform the way students in the health professions and health practitioners learn; less of a focus on lectures and more hands-on experiences. When it opens in Sept. 2018, students will learn in the most advanced health care simulation center in the country.
The goal of the Global Center is to provide learners with hands-on learning experiences in realistic environments to improve retention of information and instill confidence and competence before seeing patients. The ultimate benefit according to UNMC is to lower health care costs through better quality care and fewer medical errors. Students and health professionals will be able to practice many patient care skills over-and-over and learn new equipment or techniques. The center will benefit students and health professionals statewide since it will be connected to a statewide network of simulation facilities and some clinical sites.
To enhance learning, the 192,000 square-foot Global Center will feature a wide range of health care settings including an emergency department, operating rooms, procedure rooms and even a home care unit.
It also will include: a 130-seat holographic theater that can produce extraordinary life–like virtual images, including telepresence.; a 280-degree, 2-D/3-D immersive environment; the first of its kind laser-based 3-D, five-sided virtual immersive reality environment” head-mounted displays; interactive touch-screen walls; and surgical simulation.
"This is a completely unique type of environment which has been set up to transform the way that health education information is taught,earned and retained," said UNMC Chancellor Dr. Jeffery Gold.
As technology advances, so too does the way we learn according to Dr. Gold, "People learn by doing, they don't learn by sitting in lectures, they don't learn by reading interesting articles or even beautifully written textbooks, they don't learn by watching, they learn by doing."
The building will open September of 2018.
