Symposium on mannequins and other simulation technology in medical education

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine is hosting a conference on mannequins and other simulation technology that increasingly is being used to train doctors and nurses.

The conference will be held May 24, 2013, at Loyola's Stritch School of Medicine, 2160 S. First Ave, Maywood, Il. It is sponsored by the medical's school's Ralph P. Leischner, Jr., MD, Institute for Medical Education.

Students, residents and fellows training to be doctors and nurses increasingly are using remarkably lifelike mannequins, virtual reality and other simulation technology. They are learning, for example, how to treat a heart attack or stroke, or practice procedures such as inserting breathing tubes and catheters, said William C. McGaghie, PhD, director of the Ralph P. Leischner, Jr., MD, Institute for Medical Education.

Simulation technology is safer for patients than traditional teaching methods, in which students and trainees practiced skills – and made beginners' mistakes – on live patients, McGaghie said.

"It's an entirely new way of educating doctors and nurses, and it works," McGaghie said.

Here is the symposium schedule:

8:30 AM Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:55 AM Welcome

William C. McGaghie, PhD

Director, Leischner Institute for Medical Education

9:00 AM Mastery Learning of Essential Clinical Skills

Diane B. Wayne, MD

Northwestern University

10:00 AM Break

10:15 AM Medical Education Research as Translational Science

Jeffrey H. Barsuk, MD, MS

Northwestern University

11:15 AM Publication Opportunities in Health Professional Education

Panel – William C. McGaghie, PhD, Jeffrey H. Barsuk, MD, MS, Diane B. Wayne, MD

12:00 PM Certificate in Academic Medicine Graduation Ceremony

12:15 PM Presentation of Ralph P. Leischner, Jr., MD Master Teacher Award

12:30 PM Reception and Lunch

Provided by Loyola University Health System