Clinical Simulation on a National Level. Israel

In a geographically small country, such as Israel, a centrally located, multidisciplinary, and multimodality simulation center was viewed as a cost-effective means of providing simulation-based clinical education on a national level, enabling better matching of simulation modalities to educational training goals, and facilitating cross-transference of the learning experience and knowledge from one health care profession to another. The Israel Center for Medical Simulation opened in late 2001 and was designed to teach important clinical educational concepts and act as a vehicle for change in training and assessment culture within the entire Israeli health care system. The 1600-m² facility occupies two floors of the National Education Center for Health Professionals building at the Sheba Medical Center, which is ideally situated in the center of the country. The center was designed as a virtual hospital with multiple clinical in-hospital care environments including emergency rooms, operating rooms, intensive care units, and outpatient facilities. It also provides the capability to create various prehospital care environments. Although the use of simulation-based clinical education has passed its "infancy," it is still in the early stages of development and the center is trying to lead this development within the Israeli health care system. Internationally, national-level clinical simulation centers are a rarity and may only be viable in very limited circumstances. However, where the circumstances allow the establishment of national (state or regional) level centers, they have the opportunity to quickly introduce better standards and innovative approaches to patient safety and health care training through creating a cultural change in the delivery of an entire nation's clinical education.