The Northern Clinical Simulation Program is celebrating its 10-year anniversary.
Since 2011, the program has been instrumental in providing state-of-the-art learning environments where students, nurses, clinicians and other health care professionals work with human patient simulators - interactive training mannequins – and other technologies to hone their skills in different treatment scenarios.
“It’s an impressive ten years with the Northern Clinical Simulation Program, and we have seen excellent learning opportunities coming out of it over those years,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “People living in the North, particularly during the pandemic, have benefitted from the expertise and learning provided through the program, allowing health professionals to practice their skills safely with the human patient simulator. This is an innovation that continues to position B.C. as leaders in the health system.”
The program’s milestone is attributed to commitment to the ongoing partnership between Northern Health, the University of British Columbia’s Northern Medical Program, the College of New Caledonia, and the School of Nursing at the University of Northern BC.
“This ongoing partnership continues to support Northern Health’s organization values of collaboration and innovation” said Cathy Ulrich, Northern Health President and CEO. “It demonstrates our commitment to providing high-quality services through fostering a safe, realistic learning environment for physicians, staff and academic partners.”
Over the past ten years, the program has been actively involved in developing and supporting the highest standard of care for Northerners.
Most recently, the program played a vital role in preparing Northern Health staff in the COVID-19 pandemic response. This included:
- Airway management of patients with COVID-19
- Cardiac arrest management of patients with COVID-19
- Transfer of patients via the COVID Response Transfer Team, a partnership between BC Health Emergency Services and UHNBC
- Preparing paramedics for COVID-19
Other notable milestones include:
- The increase in clinical simulation total training hours from 1,100 to over 4,100 hours annually
- Providing health care workers with over 20,000 hours of clinical simulation education to date
- The expansion of support for inter-professional teams to provide educational opportunities at non-centre sites
- New equipment and technologies that increased realism and safety for patients
“I am very proud to have worked with the various teams and partners that helped make this milestone possible,” says Michael Lundin, Regional Manager, Clinical Simulation Education. “I look forward to supporting the program’s future developments to improve and support health care in the North.”
The program can be found in Prince George, Quesnel, Terrace and Fort St. John.
Learn more about the Clinical Simulation Program: