Lake Nona’s Medical City has been selected as the national site for the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Simulation Center for Excellence. The Center to be located at the new Orlando VA Medical Center will be the nationwide training and planning home for the VA’s new medical simulation system. A satellite facility will be located at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in California.
The VA has developed the Simulated Learning Enhancement and Advanced Research Network (SimLEARN) a system wide strategic education and planning initiative used for clinical simulation training, education, and research efforts. The initiative will establish the SimLEARN National Center as the focal point for strategic planning and curriculum design and for train-the-trainer activities.
The SimLEARN approach is consistent with newer education models currently used in medical and nursing schools across the country and complementary to approaches used by the Department of Defense in training their clinical workforce.
The new Center in Florida is expected to be completed December 2011, however temporary space at the Orlando VA Medical Center will be used in the interim. At the Palo Alto satellite location, the SimLEARN staff will use existing space at the medical center to support their activities.
