Simulation & Integrated Medical Training Advancement Centre (SIMTAC)

Ov​​erview

SIMTAC will be the hub to support, facilitate and advance the use of Simulation Based Healthcare Education (SBHE) in the National Healthcare Group (NHG), Singapore.

It is used to fulfil the following key roles:

• Equip and assist clinicians in their use of Simulation Based Healthcare Education (SHBE)
• Maintain and operate Simulation Technology for SBHE courses
• Support the various Departments in the development, organisation and operations of their SBHE courses
• The advancement of SBHE as a discipline through academic studies, research and innovation

What is Simulat​ion Based Healthcare Education (SHBE)?

SBHE uses simulation as a format to effectively improve the trainee's practical capability to provide care to patients in real clinical situations.

This format immerses the trainees in a training environment that simulates the patient's conditions and responses, interaction with other staff and patient's relatives, and physical setup of the clinical location. SBHE enables trainees to practice procedural skills, develop appropriate response versus clinical scenarios, familiarize with team roles and dynamics, improve on interpersonal interaction capabilities, etc - all in a controlled environment without harm to any real patients. Such a training environment is created using Simulation Technology, and the integration of all other components of simulated realism, e.g. multidisciplinary team members, patients' relatives, etc.

There is a broad range of Simulation Technology, and these include the following:

• Simple task trainers- designed for specific procedural skills training, e.g. IV line insertion, CVP line insertion, Airway Task Trainers, baby delivery trainers.
• Computerized task trainers- computerized system that simulates body organ systems for the development of complex procedural skills, e.g. Bronchoscopy, GIT Endoscopy, Laparoscopy etc.
• Standardized patients- human actors who can converse and interact with the trainee, mainly for training in interpersonal communications and interactions.
• Hybrid patients- combination of a human actor and a task trainer, so that the trainee can practice a procedural skill on a "patient" who can interact and express feelings.
• Computerized patient simulator- full human sized simulator that can provide complex interactive physiological responses controlled via a computer.
• Simulated Environment- the actual clinical environment can be simulated (e.g. Operating Room, Emergency Resuscitation Room, ICU Room, road side scenario).

SHBE in N​​HG

Healthcare providers in any discipline (medical, nursing, allied health) can apply SBHE in their as part of their overall training programmes, and for any level of staff (students to senior clinicians).

Once equipped with the relevant expertise, educators and teachers in the respective Departments will be able to incorporate SBHE in suitable areas of their training curriculum.

The content of each SBHE course can range from those specific to only one discipline, to those involving multidisciplinary interactions.

The purpose of these courses could include fulfilling requirements for Undergraduate or Residency training, continuing professional development, quality improvement or even for improvement of workflow or operational processes.

The long term goal for NHG is that SBHE would become a common and natural format of training amongst all Departments.

Schedule req​uest

To make a booking for SIMTAC Services:

• Please download the attached SIMTAC Schedule Request Form.
• Save the completed form as "schedule request - your name", and email it to [email protected]

All bookings will be subjected for approval. We will get back to you within 3 working days.

Booking of Facilities for Co​urses 

1. Advance Bookings - Course Directors can make advance bookings with no limitations.
2. Clash of Bookings - For any bookings that are not more than 6 months in advance, it would be allocated in a first-come-first served basis. For clash of bookings that are beyond 6 months in advance, SIMTAC will direct the matter to be resolved between the 2 Course Directors concerned. However, if this results in non-resolution, the "first-come-first served" policy still holds.