The Challenge
Like many educators, Dr Georges Savoldelli, consultant anesthesiologist at the University Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland wanted
to provide better training methods for the hospital’s physicians, nurses, and medical students - as he was convinced that this measure
would enhance the quality of care and increase patient safety.
The Customer
The Geneva University Hospital serves a population of 450,000 and employs 1300 physicians and 3400 nurses.
Organ transplant surgery is an area of high priority.
The Journey
Dr Savoldelli - key driver behind the simulation center in Geneva - went to Toronto, Canada and Boston, Mass. to learn more about
how simulation training works. With financial support from the hospital management and facilities ready at hand, it took merely a year
to get SIMULHUG up and running.
The Solution
Programme de simulation des Hôpitaux et de l’Université de Genève (SIMULHUG) was established in 2007. Core participants in the simulation program are Geneva University Hospital physicians (primarily anaesthesiologists) and nurses who train how to better handle critical medical situations. The simulation training - augmented by lengthy, personalized, instructor-led feedback - enables participants to
translate an improved performance into the daily clinical practice, on an individual level and as members of a team. SIMULHUG further
conducts research projects related to Learning Transfer and Crises Situations. The simulation center occupies 90sq meters of the hospital’s basement floor and comprises 1 simulation room, 1 control room, and 1 room for briefs/debriefs. Training equipment currently
includes 1 SimMan, 1 SimBaby, 1 SimNewB, 4 Resusci Anne, in addition to a number of skill trainers and manikins.
The Results
It is considered a tremendous leap forward that healthcare personnel are exposed to critical medical
situations and can take action without causing harm to real patients. The scenarios focus leadership,
communication, and management skills and are followed by facilitated, lengthy debrief sessions, where
the learning outcome from the simulation training is further augmented. 300 are annually trained.
Programme de simulation des Hôpitaux et de l’Université de Genève - SIMULHUG
Simulation training is provided for 300 hospital physicians, nurses, and students, and the program makes primarily use of full-scale to train interdisciplinary teams.
The mission of SIMULHUG is to enhance the quality of care & increase patient safety, by improving individual competency of healthcare
professionals & their performance as team members.
For more information, visit http://simulationmedicale.hug-ge.ch/
