Clarian Health owns or is affiliated with more than 20 hospitals and health centers in Indiana (known by their individual names and collectively as Clarian Health), and is a preeminent leader in clinical care, education, research and service. Clarian is the largest healthcare network in the state of Indiana and its most comprehensive academic center. One Clarian partner, the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM), is the nation’s second largest medical school and a global leader in medical education and research. Indiana University School of Nursing (IUSN) is among the largest multipurpose nursing schools in the country and simulation is critical to their educational offerings.

An award-winning system of medical care

For the 5th consecutive year, Clarian Health was named among the “Best Hospitals in America” in U.S. News & World Report’s highly respected ranking of America’s elite medical centers.

The Magnet Recognition Program® was developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center to recognize organizations that provide the very best in nursing care, and Magnet status, awarded for a four-year period, has been awarded to fewer than 300 hospitals in the nation. Clarian achieved Magnet designation as a hospital system in 2004 and again in 2009.

A state of the art virtual-reality training center to produce highly effective medical practitioners

A few years ago, teams at various Clarian facilities came to a realization: patients would be better served by implementing the very latest in simulation-based teaching and practices.

An interdisciplinary governance and operational committee was created to oversee planning and construction of a new simulation center. Its purpose would be to advance clinical education by providing simulation and skills education for all healthcare personnel and staff.

The Simulation Center at Fairbanks Hall was created in 2005 and is jointly operated by IUSM, IUSN and Clarian Health. The 30,000 square-foot Simulation Center is located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis; a monorail makes it easy for staff and students from participating medical facilities to come together to work and learn.

The Simulation Center replicates the patient care environment and, using scripts by simulation experts, trains Indiana’s future doctors, nurses and medical technicians to apply cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills in an interdisciplinary approach.

Simulation-based teaching and practices improve patient care

The Simulation Center consists of a twelve-seat computer lab, small classrooms, debriefing rooms and four main areas:

  • Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) Center – versatile 10-bed exam room area used by nursing/medical students and clinical staff for assessment of simulated patients and training.
  • Virtual Hospital – a six-bed hospital unit (including OB room with newborn area). Students care for simulated patients with assigned critical times to encourage problem-solving, assessment, intervention and debriefing. Clinical time includes selected skill sets, virtual DVD programs, and other technologies.
  • Skill Set Area – 1,000 square-foot instruction area for learning and practicing suturing, airway management, IV pump training and other advanced skills.
  • Acute Care Area – an ER, simulated surgical suite, Vascular Flex area, ICU suite, and transport room with ambulance. Patient simulators represent critically ill patients with selected disruptions. The area can also replicate recovery room, pre-op, triage or burn unit scenarios.

Recent advances in simulation technology are especially prevalent in the fully outfitted surgical suite. There, specialists and nursing students in training perform full procedures on simulated patients – using real instruments and the newest equipment – and experience what it’s like to work on a recently opened body cavity.

"This is a wonderful, collaborative enterprise that will provide a wealth of experience for students with direct benefit to patients," says Marion Broome, PhD, RN Distinguished Professor and university dean of the School of Nursing. "Working together to solve patient problems will influence the attitudes and behavior of nurses and physicians for years to come. With this new approach to simulated education practices, all health care providers will be best prepared to meet the complex challenges in today's health care system."

The Simulation Center at Fairbanks Hall takes virtual-reality learning to an unprecedented level and each year thousands of students benefit from its real-life training programs. As part of an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals, students gain experience and learn to deal with team dynamics, emerging technology and sudden crises before they are thrust into clinicals, residencies and the workplace.

Collaboration results in operational efficiency & ongoing development of medical training programs

The integrated facility has benefited each of the three partners financially and in their overall strategic planning. Eleven on-site personnel have been hired to complement The Simulation Center’s interdisciplinary goals and objectives. A simulation academy has been established to further develop curriculum and research opportunities.

“This collaborative model has truly worked on our campus and has drawn all healthcare providers into a common purpose of improved patient safety for the State of Indiana,” said Scott Engum, MD, Director of the Simulation Center at Fairbanks Hall.