Simulation Center 
PCOM South Georgia

In the patient exam rooms, learners engage in doctor-standardized patient encounters. This allows student doctors the opportunity to practice their clinical and humanistic skills.

Standardized patients are trained to document the skills of learners and to provide them with honest and constructive feedback based on clinical performance. The patients portray a medical scenario the same way for each learner who examines them. During an encounter, learners take patients' histories, perform appropriate physical examinations and then provide patients with corresponding assessments and treatment plans.

The PCOM South Georgia Simulation Center's standardized patient area has six exam rooms. Each room is designed to be an accurate representation of what the learners will see in the “real world.” Each room is also equipped with adjustable osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) tables.

Faculty can watch the patient encounters live from either the review room or the proctor stations. Each exam room is equipped with two cameras and microphones. The audio and video can be recorded to provide faculty with the opportunity to review performances at a later date.

The Simulation Center primarily uses two full-body high-fidelity patient simulators for most cases, in addition to one full-body obstetrical high-fidelity patient simulator, one child high-fidelity patient simulator and one newborn high-fidelity patient simulator.

These high-fidelity patient simulators are a highly advanced medical simulation tools used for healthcare training and education. The simulators closely resembles a human patient in anatomy and physiology, allowing healthcare professionals to practice a wide range of clinical skills and scenarios. The mannequins offer realistic physiological responses, scenario-based training and data collection for feedback. They are used to develop skills like CPR, intubation, and medication administration. The simulators are also valuable for team training exercises, enhancing coordination and communication among healthcare teams in simulated medical emergencies.

The PCOM South Georgia Simulation Center is equipped with four versatile simulation rooms to mimic any healthcare setting, such as a maternity room where learners can practice multiple procedures, featuring a wireless birthing simulator with five fetal heart sound locations, a highly articulated baby with various joint movements, and an audible cry upon delivery. The patient simulator offers audible lung sounds, visible chest rise and fall, and controllable pulses in eight locations connected to an electrocardiogram monitor. Additionally, there is a neonate simulator with programmable mouth and eyes, limb movement, ventilator support, heart and lung sounds, palpable pulses and seizure simulation. The Simulation Center can also mimic an emergency room or intensive care unit for various scenarios and features full monitoring equipment, communication systems and fully-stocked crash carts.

After each simulation has concluded, learners are thoroughly debriefed in a separate area from the simulation rooms. Debriefing rooms enable faculty and students to review the simulation activity to discuss all aspects of the case.

The skills lab is used to train students to perform various clinical procedures. Learners may work individually or as part of a team to practice with different task trainers.

Task trainers include intubation airway trainers, lumbar puncture trainers, central line trainers, femoral line trainers, IV arm trainers, atrial line trainers, breast simulator trainers, adult CPR trainers, pediatric CPR trainers, infant CPR trainers, female pelvic trainers, male pelvic trainers, suture pad trainers and surgical knot tying practice.

The simulated operating room is fully equipped with a working operating table, oxygen, suction, lights and a trauma simulator which provides learners with opportunities to perform surgical-type procedures while also learning about the operating room environment. Second-year students practice scrub procedures at the scrub sink prior to their operating room rotations.

Within the Operating Room is the LAP Mentor, which is a virtual laparoscopic surgical simulator which provides a complete training experience to learners of all levels and across all disciplines including gynecology, urology and general surgery.

The FLS Laparoscopic Trainer System is a device for surgical residents and practicing surgeons that facilitates the development of psychomotor skills and dexterity required during the performance of basic laparoscopic surgery.

The PCOM South Georgia Simulation Center, which has a total of two control areas strategically located within it, provides a secluded area where faculty can monitor and evaluate performances during simulated exercises as well as staff controlling the various simulators, audio/video systems and lab equipment. Each room in the Simulation Center is equipped with multiple cameras and microphones, allowing faculty and staff to manage, monitor, record and evaluate each simulation and exam room.

The mobile simulation lab is a teaching tool for trauma and pre-hospital care. The lab resembles an ambulance and houses modern emergency equipment including vital monitors, stretchers, splints, suctioning equipment, intubation equipment, simulated medications and much more. In addition, equipment and patient mannequins found in the Simulation Center can be moved into the mobile lab.

Emergency simulations are conducted inside and around the vehicle. Learners can practice a variety of scenarios including cardiac arrest, childbirth, bone fractures, burns, gunshot wounds, allergic reactions, overdoses and more.

The mobile lab is used to teach both PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia students when it makes trips between Suwanee and Moultrie. It is also used during community education events or training programs held in conjunction with area institutions and emergency responder units.