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A hard hat tour of the unfinished Sarkaria Family Patient Simulation Suite was for in-person guests following the Pumerantz Lecture. The suite is inside the Health Profession Center on the Pomona campus. WesternU Contruction Project Manager Steve Vega led the tour.
WesternU / COMP (CA): Sarkaria Family Patient Simulation Suite

COMP (CA): Sarkaria Family Patient Simulation Suite

Following the Pumerantz Lecture and the tour of the Sarkaria Family Patient Simulation Suite, guests toured the new high-tech clinical experience lab/rooms where manikin medical simulators were on display.

Sarkaria Family Patient Simulation Suite

Thanks to a generous donation from the Sarkaria family, Western University of Health Sciences and the College of Osteopathic Medicine completed a two-year renovation (February 2023) that has transformed the clinical skills lab into the Sarkaria Family Patient Simulation Suite, a 6,000 square foot innovative learning space with state-of-the-art equipment to provide WesternU students with the highest quality medical simulation experiences.

The Medical Simulation Suite includes:
  • Surgery/Operating Room (OR/ER)
  • Labor/Delivery Room
  • Simulation Flex Rooms (3) for novel technologies
  • Med-Sim Control Rooms (2)
  • Digital Immersive Training Environment Room
  • Standardized Patient Exam Rooms (22) – new electric exam tables, medical wall units, white boards, and standard hospital room furniture
  • Patient Simulators (4) – HAL® sS5301, VICTORIA® S2200, Pediatric HAL S2225, Super TORY® S2220

Sarkaria Family Patient Simulation Suite

“The beauty of simulation is it allows us to have a teachable moment. We can stop in the middle of a procedure and explain what the student should have done. You can do real-time correction without harming the patient.”

Marian Safaoui, MD, Assistant Professor of Anatomy & Surgery, COMP
Faculty with Students in the VIZ Room - virtual reality

“What we hear back from preceptors and leaders in rotations is they highly value WesternU students because of their competency. They are more prepared and more confident because we have more standardized patient encounters than most schools. Students learn better when you bring in auditory, kinesthetic and visual learning together.”
– Anne E. Swanson, DMin, LMFT, COMP Director of Medical Simulation (2017-2024)

Student with standardized patient and

Standardized Patients

Another benefit for WesternU students is the opportunity to train with Standardized Patients (SP). SPs are independent specialists trained to simulate accurately and consistently the medical condition of an actual patient. SPs prepare extensively to give feedback to trainees on communication and interpersonal skills, and in many cases, to complete scoring checklists. SPs teach students about communication, empathy, spontaneous communications, cultural competency, and religious and diversity issues. The use of SPs is a proven method for helping the medical student gain skills in interpersonal interactions, communication, interviewing, counseling, assessment, physical exam and patient management.
Students working on patient simulator

Meet HAL S5301 Patient Simulator

WesternU students will have the opportunity to train on the world’s most advanced interdisciplinary patient simulator – HAL® S5301. HAL is one of only six manikins being utilized in the United States and the only one on the west coast. HAL® will display symptoms and students will work with other advisors to determine a diagnosis.

From emergency care to ICU and med-surg training, HAL is designed to fulfill educational objectives across clinical disciplines and blur the lines between simulation and real life. New lifelike motor movement, next-gen simulated physiology, UNI® 3, and other industry-first capabilities.
Students working with Victoria patient simulator

VICTORIA® S2200 Patient Simulator

VICTORIA® S2200 is the world’s most lifelike childbirth simulator. WesternU students will work with their colleagues to deliver a baby. VICTORIA is designed to deliver exceptional training through a truly immersive experience.

From early pregnancy complications, high-risk deliveries, and postpartum emergencies to non-gravid scenarios for general nursing care, VICTORIA simulates a full range of obstetrical events to facilitate teamwork and deepen critical thinking skills in learners of all levels. More than a childbirth simulator, VICTORIA is a complete simulation solution developed from decades of obstetrical experience. It is a comprehensive package of tools and support designed to help improve patient safety in women’s health through education and training.
  • Pediatric Hal ® S2225

    WesternU students who focus on health care for infants, children and adolescents, will train on the world’s most advanced pediatric patient simulator and the first capable of simulating lifelike emotions through dynamic facial expressions, movement, and speech – Pediatric HAL S2225 (AKA Isaac). This experience is designed to help WesternU students develop the specialized skills needed to effectively communicate with, diagnose, and treat young patients throughout the continuum of care, including pre-hospital, transport, emergency, nursing, and intensive care settings.

    • Lifelike facial expressions, emotions, and speech; Isaac talks and cries when something hurts
    • Real patient monitoring equipment and mechanical ventilators
    • Emergency procedures including surgical airway, needle decompression, and chest tube thoracostomy
    • Wireless and tetherless: fully operational in transit facilitates in-situ simulation including patient transport and handoff exercises
    • 10 Simulation Learning Experiences designed to replicate an assortment of clinical situations throughout the spectrum of pediatric care
  • TORY® S2220 – Newborn Simulator

    As WesternU students deliver a baby from VICTORIA, they will then have the opportunity to embrace and care for Super TORY S2220®. TORY is the first newborn simulator developed to meet the challenges of neonatal care specialist training in real environments. Active movement, true ventilator support and real patient monitoring. TORY will simulate complex pathologies and respond to interventions with unparalleled realism offering true-to-life physical and physiological attributes for every stage in neonatal care, whether training in a simulation center, in situ, or in transit.
  • VizMove Prism – Virtual Reality

    WesternU students will experience virtual reality in our VizMove Prism immersive training environment room, which has interactive triggers with surround sound, light functions, and the ability to add ambient smells to the room to create a realistic virtual training experience. With the ability to build scenes, the VizMove Prism will challenge students and elicit emotions, memories, responses and ideas.
  • Task Trainers

    WesternU students have access to some of the most diverse specialized simulators. Task Trainers provide our students the opportunity to become adept at specific skills and to develop good procedural techniques. WesternU provides the following specialized simulators:

    • Airway Management
    • Paracentesis
    • Thoracentesis
    • Central Line
    • Lumbar Puncture
    • Intravenous Legs/Arms