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Valdecilla virtual Hospital (VvH) is a healthcare simulation center located in the city of Santander, Cantabria, Spain. It was created by a consortium between the Cantabrian Government, the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, and the University of Cantabria.
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Simulation in Healthcare
Clinical simulation is a technique that replaces real situations with guided experiences in realistic environments using simulators instead of patients. Mannequins, actors, part-task trainers, animal and virtual models are used to replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive manner, allowing healthcare professionals and students to train with safety. Simulation-based training is followed by a debriefing process that allows trainees to reflect upon their performance as well as to receive feedback. There is increasing evidence that supports the effectiveness of this teaching tool, its transferability to the real world, and its ability to improve patient outcomes. The early efforts of researchers are receiving recognition, and the growth of simulation centers is increasing steadily all over the world. As a result, new professional societies have emerged in recent years, including the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) (with its own journal), the Society in Europe for Simulation Applied to Medicine (SESAM) and the Spanish Society for Clinical Simulation and Patient Safety (SESSEP).
Today, healthcare and allied health professionals, residents and students are trained to use all applications of clinical simulation. Simulation is currently used to teach technical skills, critical thinking and clinical decision-making, model interprofessional teamwork, and study a broad range of interactions from a single patient–physician encounter.
The concept used in the present article for Virtual Hospital is not the same as the one used in Virtual Hospital (to interconnect villages in the developing world using Telemedicine): a Virtual Hospital in this context is intended to resemble a real one except that the patients are replaced by simulators.
Important dates for Healthcare Education and Simulation in Cantabria
Future of Simulation in Healthcare and Allied Health Professions
Simulation for healthcare applications, although still in a relatively nascent stage of development, already has a rich history. Nearly all the original simulators and simulations have evolved into products or concepts that are currently enabling changes in healthcare education and improvements in patient safety.
Current aspects of simulation that need improvement: