Located at Riverside Regional Medical Center in the Huntington Ingalls Industries Education & Training Center, the 8,400-square-foot Riverside Simulation Training Lab (RSTL) is a vital resource for ongoing clinical training.
In 2020, the RSTL was established in memory of Dr. Brandon D. Rogers, a former Riverside Family Medicine resident at Brentwood Medical Center. His passion for medical education and patient care left a lasting impact. His family (in partnership with the Riverside Foundation, Riverside medical staff and community donors) helped bring this facility to life. Rogers was a compassionate caregiver who sang to his patients and appeared on America’s Got Talent, but died in an auto accident in 2017.
“Brandon was cheerful even on bad days,” says Dr. Joy Elliott, DO, Rogers’ advisor at Brentwood Medical Center. “He was a kind and loyal friend, receptive to instruction, a willing learner and compassionate to patients.”
“The RSTL is designed to give medical personnel experience performing care on ‘once-in-a-career’ types of medical issues,” says John Alex, M.D., RSTL medical director. “The lab provides an immersive, hands-on learning experience for medical residents, Riverside providers, team members and community partners.”
The lab encompasses four dedicated clinical areas including a medical/surgical/intensive care ward, labor and delivery room, emergency medicine/trauma bay and a procedural skills suite, allowing participants to practice critical skills on dedicated, highly-sophisticated manikins. Each simulation room mimics its counterpart in the hospital.
Alex served as a Naval cryptologist after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy. In 2005, he graduated from the University of Miami under the Health Professions Scholarship Program. Following medical school, he completed his internship at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, attended follow-on training as a naval flight surgeon, finished his emergency medicine residency, and stayed at Portsmouth as core faculty.
During his military career, he spent six months in Afghanistan and two years in Okinawa, Japan, where he opened a simulation lab before returning to Portsmouth.
In 2020, Alex received the opportunity to build, open and design an entire simulation program. “I was drawn to Riverside by its legacy, its community investment and its mission: ‘To care for others as we would care for those we love,’” he says. Alex leads the effort in training new Riverside team members in RSTL. He is adjunct faculty for the emergency medicine residency, training future emergency physicians.
“Medical care has advanced considerably, and there are a lot of procedures and disease status we need to be very adept at managing,” Alex says. “You don’t want the first time you do one of those procedures to be in the heat of the moment.”
The labor and delivery suite is occupied by an anatomically-correct adult female manikin used for practicing obstetrical emergencies. A juvenile male manikin is used for pediatric instruction. Adjoining this suite is a room with one-way glass where instructors can observe and assist trainees.
There are manikins that simulate heart, lung and bowel sounds and utter basic words and phrases. Some advanced models sweat, cry, bleed, convulse and speak phrases and sounds; lifelike reactions are vital in reinforcing student learning by practical application.
Sim labs maximize three important healthcare training elements: cognitive, psychomotor (physical skills, muscle memory) and affective (attitude, emotion). Repetition of procedures, introduction of variables and reflection of actions can occur without patient exposure to possible human error.
Alex leads a faculty development course to help educators and clinical staff become comfortable with simulation as a methodology. “We empower educators to run their own program in the lab,” Alex says. “We don’t have sim lab staff at every evolution nor do we necessarily need to. Educators are hospital staff from almost every department. The residencies have their own core faculty.”
The RSTL has been granted full accreditation in teaching and education from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare,™ further reinforcing its role as a leader in clinical education.
“We have a great program that’s grown exponentially and continues to do so,” Alex says. “We’re creating innovative curriculum that’s not only benefiting team members, but ultimately the patient care we deliver.”
Alex helps the larger simulation community by serving in volunteer roles with governing bodies or societies. Presently he is chair for the Certification Council for the Society for Simulation and Healthcare.
Riverside’s Simulation Training Lab has been recognized by Becker’s Healthcare as one of the top medical training facilities in the country. Becker’s is one of the nation’s top medical simulation training and education programs, highlighting the lab’s commitment to advancing healthcare education and clinical skill development for medical professionals.
“Recently, providers were teaching a Stop the Bleed class to a group of high school students. We were able to act out a scenario with a manikin, performing authentic skills,” says Samantha Pollard, RN, trauma program coordinator. “The provider in the scenario was able to cut into the manikin, which could bleed just as a human does, with accurate anatomy and landmarks.”
“When you see the training applied on the front line, you know what you’re doing today is going to make a difference tomorrow,” Alex says.
TO THE POINT:
Simulation Training Lab, Riverside Regional Medical Center
Address: 500 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News, VA 23601
Contacts: John E. Alex, M.D., CHSE-A, CHSOS-A, RDMS, FACEP, FAAEM, director; Mary A. Dorsey, MSN, RN, CHSE, CMSRN, coordinator; Dana Rudd, MS, CHSOS, simulation technician; April Weston, MHA, director of integrated communications, Riverside Health
Phone: 757-534-7091 (office)
Website: riversideonline.com/en/health-resources/riverside-simulation-training-lab
