Patient Safety and Care Top Agenda at Dubai Healthcare City’s 2nd UAE Clinical Simulation Conference

Wednesday, Feb 25, 2015

Under the patronage of the Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein Dubai Healthcare City today opened its 2nd UAE Clinical Simulation Conference (CSC) advancing the global dialogue on simulation-based medical education.

Dubai, February 25, 2015: 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, the world’s largest healthcare free zone Dubai Healthcare City, today opened its 2nd UAE Clinical Simulation Conference (CSC), advancing the global dialogue on simulation-based medical education.

Themed ‘Simulation: Heart of Patient Safety’, the conference highlighted the effectiveness of simulation technology in healthcare, and addressed topics such as healthcare innovation, medical simulation initiatives, cultural influences on the adoption of simulation, and assessment of clinical practice through simulation. Organized in collaboration with the Society in Europe for Simulation Applied to Medicine (SESAM), the conference from 24-26 February is being held at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academic Medical Center (MBR-AMC), home to the Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Medical Simulation Center, the first comprehensive simulation training facility of its kind in the region.

Attending on behalf of HRH Princess Haya was HE Dr Raja Al Gurg, Vice-Chairperson, Dubai Healthcare City Authority. Also present during the opening were members of the Authority’s Board of Directors, dignitaries and other distinguished guests.

“Patient safety tops our agenda. The rise of non-communicable diseases and growing healthcare expenditure makes it crucial to improve clinical skills,” said HE Dr Al Gurg. “We need to combine our resources and expertise - whether to discuss challenges, developments or successes to support the future health of our communities.”

The pre-conference day featured workshops on topics including trauma simulation and wearable technologies, and the remainder, an appreciation ceremony followed by keynote addresses, presentations and lectures by international speakers and regional experts in clinical simulation.

“We are building on the success of the inaugural UAE Clinical Simulation Conference which provided opportunities for peer-to-peer knowledge sharing,” said Dr Amer Ahmad Sharif, Managing Director – Education, Dubai Healthcare City. “This year too, the conference raises patient safety and emphasizes the value and possibilities of simulation training in healthcare.”

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 collaboration with Dubai Healthcare City marks the 1st SESAM MENA conference.

The keynote speakers for the 2015 edition are Dr Ralf Krage, President of SESAM; David Grant, Chairman, Bristol Medical Simulation Center, 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.

Simulation has a central role to play in the delivery of safe patient care. “It moves the steep part of the learning curve of healthcare practitioners and organizations away from the patient,” said Professor Grant, International Pediatric Simulation Society.

Professor Jeffries, Johns Hopkins University, said the conference presented an exciting opportunity to collaborate and to share information across the globe. “Although we are from different countries and disciplines, ultimately we have the same goal - to provide high quality patient care and create safe healthcare environments.”

The Conference is in line with Dubai Healthcare City’s vision to become an internationally recognized location of choice for medical education and research.

To learn more about the CSC 2015 edition, log on to http://uae-csc2015.com.