There’s no doubt that modern medicine is a team activity.

And much like in sports, when the team doesn’t function together, the outcomes are less assured. We have all experienced this, and possibly been frustrated by it. But is it really surprising? How many of us trained in teams during our school years? How often have we trained in teams since graduating? Back to the sports analogy, how can we expect to win, win, win, without ever going to a practice?

Well, there is a better way. As kids, we all remember having fire drills at school. Why not practice emergency events at work? At Sunnybrook we can do this. We have a Simulation Centre here, and in fact, we had the first centre in Canada, which opened in 1994. We have human patient mannequins that have heart sounds, breath sounds, pulses and display vital signs on a monitor. We can practice almost any scenario, limited only by people’s creativity: from a drunk trauma patient, to a difficult delivery where the father faints in the middle!

Teams can come to the Simulation Centre, or we can come to your unit.

So is it fun? Depends on whom you ask. Initially most people are a bit scared. Am I going to perform OK? Will I embarrass myself? Am I going to look like an idiot in front of my peers?

We have a strict policy of confidentiality at the Sim Centre. Everything that happens there stays there! After the initial nervousness is past, almost everyone finds it a fascinating and extremely valuable experience. We can practice things in absolute safety without worrying about a patient being harmed. We can have a “redo” and try the same scenario over again. Most people say they want more, even those who were the most hesitant at the start!

While people can practice individually or in small groups, team training with real interprofessional colleagues is the most realistic and beneficial to all. The biggest challenge is getting everyone’s schedule in sync.

If this type of training interests you, speak to your educators, team leaders, managers or us! Because education matters, especially when patient safety is involved.

Dr. Jordan Tarshis, Director,

Susan DeSousa, Agnes Ryzynski, Co-ordinators,

Sunnybrook Canadian Simulation Centre