… Equips centre with over N100m

By Dayo Johnson, Akure.

The First University of Medical Sciences, (UNIMED), in the country situated in Ondo town, Ondo state,
has incorporated simulation training into its clinical training programme.

The new initiative was aimed at improving patient safety and quality of care in the medical world, which he described as fundamental in the 21st century.

Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, said that simulation training has become an integral aspect of medical training globally, hence UNIMED’s decision to incorporate it into its medical programme, stressing that it will provide students with a safe space to practice their skills and as well identify and mitigate errors.

Prof. Fatusi said that the training, which was in partnership with the Carnegie African Disapora Fellowship, will last for 80 days, adding that the equipment that will be used for the simulation training is worth over N100 million.

“You won’t see anywhere in a developed country where you train doctors or nurses without a technical simulation approach to it.

“Nobody trains a pilot to fly a plane by trying it; a pilot is being trained to be stimulated; that’s how we train doctors and nurses.

“In the 21st century, we need to give them the opportunity to practice clinical simulation so that they can develop their skills, develop their competence, and develop their capacity before ever meeting patients, and that’s one of the things we are doing at UNIMED.

“We are not just doing this for UNIMED; we are developing standard training that any Nigerian university or any Nigerian hospital can come and benefit from.

“We are developing a formal certificate in clinical simulation as part of helping the Nigerian educational aspect.

“In terms of the course, this is part of a whole enterprise, and that enterprise is, one, developing the center; two, buying the materials or equipment; so, all of these, if we put them together, is over N100 million that has gone towards getting to where we are today.”

Also, speaking, the resource person, Prof. Olugbenga Akingbola, who is a Carnegie Fellow, said that simulation training provides a safe environment where students are allowed to make mistakes without any negative consequences.

Prof Akingbola said that ” by practicing repeatedly, students can improve their skills and gain confidence in their abilities, which will ultimately lead to better patient outcomes and a safer medical industry.

“Students who participate in this program should consider themselves lucky, as they will have the opportunity to learn from experienced medical professionals and gain hands-on experience in a safe environment.

“UNIMED’s decision to incorporate simulation training into its program is a positive step towards improving patient safety and quality of care in the medical industry.

Akingbola added that ” When we trained, we didn’t have a simulation center, which means that everything that we knew how to do, we learned it on patients. You will see that in that scenario, any form of error can be catastrophic.”