University of Miami Opens School of Nursing and Health Studies Simulation Hospital

The University of Miami (UM) School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS) recently opened a new Simulation Hospital on its Coral Gables campus, signaling a promising transformation in the education of healthcare professionals. The five-story, 41,000-square-foot, fully equipped facility will serve as a hub for students, healthcare professionals, first responders and corporate partners to design, test, and master skills and technologies to transform healthcare education, research, and practice.

UM SONHS Dean Cindy Munro stated in a press release: “The Simulation Hospital will replicate a hospital as well as a fully functioning healthcare system, which makes it a powerful concept, unique among simulation-based healthcare education programs worldwide. Complementing the impressive structural capacity is our faculty’s range and level of expertise. Together, these resources present an opportunity to extend the reach of our education, research and service contributions to local and global communities.”

The simulation training opportunities available in UM’s new hospital are unmatched in scope and capacity. A unique combination of high-tech mannequins, standardized patients (actors), and other resources will challenge learners to respond to a variety of urgent clinical scenarios. Key features in the new hospital include an emergency department, outpatient clinic, auditorium, labor and delivery suites, operating room suites, a critical care unit, and much more.

The simulation hospital will also serve as a local resource for interprofessional learning, licensure and certification, and continuing education opportunities in basic and advanced life support, anesthesia provision, and other healthcare specialties.

As a venue that allows healthcare professionals to develop strategies to improve disaster response, healthcare delivery, and patient experience, the new simulation hospital aligns with UM’s goal to foster global partnerships and promote healthcare innovation across the hemisphere and beyond.