Simulation Laboratory
The simulation lab at CAMC is a state-of-the-art facility located in the fifth floor of the General Division, which has been entirely designed and exclusively dedicated for this purpose. The lab is a high-tech training site for students, surgical residents and experienced surgeons. It contributes to the educational mission of the Department of Surgery, intent in delivering an outstanding graduate teaching experience and providing optimal and safe patient care.
Understanding clearly that rehearsal is essential to develop surgical skills and impacts heavily on safety, the doors of the Simulation Center opened in late 2003. The facility has been evolving and maturing since then, and it now has a clear and well-designed position in the training experience of residents and students.
The Surgical and Medical Skills Laboratory has manikin simulators to provide realistic situations in a variety of scenarios. Performances are frequently video recorded for analysis and corrections by faculty experts. The simulators provide computerized feedback about a significant range of clinical circumstances that can be programmed according to need.
The trainers allow residents to perform an assortment of procedures, from the simplest to the most complex, allowing trainees to develop hand-eye coordination, depth perception, and ambidexterity.
A robotic surgery console is available to train residents and attendings and provide an opportunity to satisfy credentialing criteria.
In the Simulation Lab, first year residents learn skills that include central line insertion with ultrasound guidance, crycothyroidotomy, thoracoscopy, pericardiocentesis, paracentesis, FAST exam, peritoneal lavage, and others. Trainers allow for rehearsal of laparoscopic skills, stapling skills, and endoscopy. Appendectomy, laparoscopic cholecystectomy and laparoscopic suturing are common examples of the competences offered through the Simulation Laboratory. Additionally, residents receive training on ATLS, ACLS, PALS and CPR in the lab.
Once a year, residents receive formal training in the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery, a program designed and proctored by SAGES and the American College of Surgeons.
Led by Dr. AbuRahma, the group publishes scientific research regularly, frequently producing prospective randomized studies that provide high levels of evidence and influence strongly the guidelines that regulate the care of vascular diseases. The surgeons at the VCOE have pioneered many of the interventions currently used to treat conditions affecting the carotid artery. Over the years, they have been involved in more than ten prospective randomized national trials scrutinizing the best therapeutic options for patients with carotid disease.
Every year, Dr. AbuRahma organizes a Vascular Conference, which brings together as speakers the best known vascular surgeons in the country. The conference gives surgeons in the state the opportunity to hear the latest information and research in the field, in the lovely setting of the Greenbrier Resort.