From lifesaving emergencies to team-based medical training, the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) officially opened its new Centre for Integrated Learning that will also house a simulation centre. President and CEO of RVH Gail Hunt said the new centre reflects a longstanding commitment of healthcare professionals embracing a learning environment. “It demonstrates our commitment to providing spaces where learners can actually grow and receive feedback,” said Hunt. “Long-term staff can come to the space, you don’t just invest when people arrive, things change as people are in mid-career, and they have an opportunity to learn those new things.” Within the new walls is what’s called simulation care, where doctors and nurses can work through specific scenarios on high fidelity mannequins, giving them a new place to get practical experience at RVH. Dr. Chris Martin, director of medical education at RVH, said the simulation experience can replicate what could happen while working on various units throughout the hospital. “We can simulate life threatening emergencies, vital signs and allow learners to train on the simulator, so that when they encounter these scenarios with a real patient, they’ve seen it before and they’ve managed it,” said Martin. It not only encourages learning, but nurses and doctors work collaboratively as a team. Dr. Jeffrey Tyberg, chief of staff and vice president of Academic and Medical Affairs at RVH, added the space is meant to reinforce positivity while educating the next generation of healthcare workers. “When you run a scenario as a team, you can stop and say, ‘hey, why are we doing it this way? Maybe we should do it a different way,’” said Dr. Tyberg. “You can have that conversation with all the professionals that are going to be able to say ‘hey, you know what? Maybe next time we run a code’ because there’s a better way to do it or there’s a clearer way to communicate.” RVH leadership believes the new learning centre will be a key tool when recruiting future nurses and doctors. “When nurses and other health professionals come to RVH, they see this dedicated space. They know that education is going to be a part of a long-term plan which you don’t get in every organization,” said Hunt. “So, it’s a really nice attraction for us.” The opening of this centre is part of RVH’s 10-year plan to evolve into a teaching and science hospital. The next step is to bring healthcare professionals on site to learn different specialties and skill sets.
