Dubai Healthcare City's 2nd UAE Clinical Simulation Conference to Highlight Simulation as an Integral Teaching Tool in Healthcare

Sunday, Feb 22, 2015

Ahead of its 2nd UAE Clinical Simulation Conference (CSC) from 24-26 February, 2015, reiterated today the importance of incorporating simulation into medical education to foster a new generation of healthcare professionals who will be better equipped to deliver safe and high quality care.

Dubai, February 22, 2015

Ahead of its 2nd UAE Clinical Simulation Conference (CSC) from 24-26 February, 2015, Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), the world's largest healthcare free zone, reiterated today the importance of incorporating simulation into medical education to foster a new generation of healthcare professionals who will be better equipped to deliver safe and high quality care. The Conference, organized this year in collaboration with the Society in Europe for Simulation Applied to Medicine (SESAM), will be held under the patronage of the Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Held under the theme 'Simulation: Heart of Patient Safety', the CSC 2015 will take place at Dubai Healthcare City's Mohammed Bin Rashid Academic Medical Centre (MBR-AMC), home to the Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Medical Simulation Center (KHMSC), the first comprehensive simulation training facility of its kind in the region. The three-day event - with the first day dedicated to pre-conference workshops - will bring together international speakers and regional experts in clinical simulation with the common goal of promoting training and simulation technologies.

"Technological innovation in healthcare is a key enabler in our goal to improve delivery of care and raise patient safety," said HE Dr Raja Easa Al Gurg, Vice-Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority. "Equipping current and future physicians with the necessary clinical skills can only lead to a safer and more effective healthcare system."

The hands-on rehearsal of clinical situations through simulation is an integral teaching tool in healthcare. "Simulation-based medical education is increasingly linked to improved team communication and better evaluation and treatment techniques," said Dr Amer Ahmad Sharif, Managing Director – Education, DHCC. "The Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Medical Simulation Center has trained almost 3,000 multidisciplinary healthcare professionals since its opening in November 2012. In 2014, the Center conducted 150 training sessions."

The international body SESAM is a network of simulation professionals who support the use of simulation in healthcare for training and research, effectively promoting simulation in medical education. The CSC 2015 marks the 1st SESAM MENA conference.
"We are excited about our collaboration with Dubai Healthcare City that has elevated simulation-based learning in the UAE," said Dr Ralf Krage, President of SESAM. "Simulation is an essential component in clinical training. Every healthcare professional has to take some level of risk when treating patients but it is critical that each professional learns to minimize this risk and learn from mistakes through simulation training."

Keynote speakers at this year's conference will be David Grant, Chairman, Bristol Medical Simulation Centre, President, International Pediatric Simulation Society, UK; Pamela R. Jeffries, Professor, School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, and Past President, The Society for Simulation in Healthcare, USA; Nick Sevdalis, Professor, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK; Homero Rivas, Assistant Professor, Director of Innovative Surgery, Stanford University, USA; and Debra Nestel, Professor of Simulation Education in Healthcare, Monash University, Australia.