SIMU is the 12th fully accredited centre in the world!
Less than three years after the start of teaching in the simulation centre, the FM MU Simulation Centre was accredited by the European Society for Simulation in Medicine (SESAM) in May. SIMU is now one of 12 fully accredited centres in the world. This award was received by SIMU representatives at the SESAM conference in Lisbon, Portugal, in June. Among other things, they presented a unique training programme for student lecturers in first aid.
We were welcomed at the Lisbon Convention Centre by Francisco Maio Matos, President of the Society for Simulation in Europe (SESAM). He thanked the scientific committee for the organisation of the congress, the organisers and the participants. It was repeatedly said that every SESAM annual meeting is all about bringing people together and creating a community, not just the technical side of the congress. This year, for the first time, it was attended by more than 1000 delegates from 51 countries, including 32 representatives from Ukraine who are invited guests of the Society.
The collective of SIMU lecturers (prof. Petr Štourač, assoc. Martina Kosinová, MUDr. Tereza Vafková and MUDr. Daniel Barvík) presented a unique programme for training student lecturers to teach first aid called Student as a Teacher Programme for First Aid Simulation-based Education. Active participation was also represented by an invited lecture by Tamara Skříšovská, M.D., who presented the results of a simulation-based study on the effectiveness of ventilation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in children. Dr. Skříšovská also became Vice President of SESAM for the next 2 years.
The end of the conference was marked by the acceptance of full accreditation of the Simulation Centre of Masaryk University (SIMU). This solemn act was preceded by almost two years of preparation. The accreditation is primarily focused on proper teaching methodology and monitoring of learning objectives. By asking guiding questions when filling in the required documents, it is intended not only to ensure that everything is done according to the set standards, but also to guide the management to improve the quality of teaching and the day-to-day running of the simulation centre. The completion of the documents was complex as SIMU is unparalleled in Europe in terms of size and equipment. For example, it was necessary to detail the size of all the rooms and equipment available, the teaching activities, to document the expertise of the lecturers and to indicate how SIMU reflects the needs of the students. The evaluation and completion of the information was followed by a one-day visit of the accreditation committee by Dr. Marc Lazarovic from Munich and Dr. Stephan Gisin from Basel. During the tour of SIMU, the commissioners had the opportunity to see real teaching at SIMU and to speak with staff and students. Both congratulated the SIMU team for their excellent work and added some small suggestions for possible improvements.
Receiving the accreditation certificate was thus a beautiful symbolic end to the daily efforts of extraordinary people and proof that we have much to be proud of in this regard.
But our journey is far from over. There is always room for improvement, new experiences and inspiration. That is why we would like to invite all fans of simulation medicine to the SIMPO 2023 professional symposium, organized under the auspices of the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Martin Repko, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of the Association of Deans of Medical Faculties of the Czech Republic. This simulation symposium will be held on September 5, 2003 at SIMU and we are already inviting you to the next SESAM conference, which will be held on June 19-21, 2024 in Prague.
MUDr. Tamara Skříšovská
