Sept. 29, 2021
As part of the fifth anniversary of the University of Missouri’s Springfield Clinical Campus, leadership from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, Mercy Hospital Springfield and Cox Health recently gathered to celebrate the opening of the Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden Springfield Clinical Campus Simulation Center.
The center, located within the Springfield Clinical Campus, is a state-of-the-art training facility for medical procedures. It features training tools such as virtual reality devices and computerized patient mannequins that give real-time feedback in the same way a human patient would.
“The sim center provides the opportunity for health care providers to practice high-risk patient events in an environment that is controlled and safe,” said Dena Higbee, MU’s clinical simulation center director. “The active training leaves providers better prepared, improves team dynamics found in real health care environments and encourages students and professionals to become lifelong learners.”
Especially in rural areas of the state, limited funding can make it challenging for hospitals and clinics to purchase high-tech training equipment. The Springfield Clinical Campus has made the simulation center available to the community beyond just medical students. From first-responders and law enforcement officers to community college and vocational program students, the training can be tailored to fit the needs of a wide variety of learners.
The MU School of Medicine opened the Springfield Clinical Campus in 2016 in an effort to train more physicians for Missouri. The campus is a public/private partnership with CoxHealth and Mercy hospitals and doctors to provide patient-centered care for the people of the state and beyond.
