FAKE PATIENTS, REAL LESSONS
Riverside plans simulation lab named after late singing doctor
Plans and fundraising are underway for a simulation lab at Riverside Regional Medical Center that would help recruit and retain doctors, nurses and clinical staff with the latest in training technologies like virtual reality.
Riverside Regional’s recent Pavilion expansion freed up former operating suite space to allow for a full Center for Medical Education that will be based on a simulation lab named after the late Dr. Brandon Rogers. The Portsmouth native was a family medicine resident at Riverside Brentwood Medical Center and was also an aspiring singer. He had auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” weeks before he was killed in a car accident in 2017 at age 29. Rogers had also performed with Boyz II Men.
The Riverside Foundation kicked off fundraising for the Dr. Brandon Rogers Simulation Lab in 2017 and has garnered more than $500,000 in commitments, foundation executive director Kristen Beam Witt said. The initial goal is to raise $1.5 million to $2 million, but the training facility will be an ongoing project with ongoing fundraising, she said.
The lab will be instrumental in launching an emergency medicine residency program at Riverside, said Dr. Gary Kavit, the health system’s service line chief for emergency services and Riverside Regional’s emergency department medical director.
“There’s a current emergency medicine shortage across the country,” Kavit said. “We see this as a way to bring highly qualified emergency physicians to the community.”
Riverside has transitional year, family practice and ob-gyn residencies.
The lab will help doctors and their teams practice high-risk procedures in simulated stressful situations not only to gain knowledge, but to maximize muscle memory and emotional skills, Kavit said. This is particularly helpful for maintaining skills needed for procedures that aren’t
done very often, and so will especially benefit smaller hospitals and rural professionals in the area.
All the major universities have sim labs, but it’s a newer concept for a large community hospital to get involved in simulation training, Kavit said. That novelty could make Riverside or the community more attractive to doctors.
“Hopefully, this will set us apart at Riverside — that we have this higher level of education and commitment,” Kavit said.
The Center for Medical Education will also house classroom space, a resident study lounge, a library and laboratories. The facility will have interactive medical mannequins that can simulate lifelike reactions and sounds, including advanced models that can utter basic words and phrases, sweat, bleed and convulse to reinforce student learning.
The technology has become more sophisticated, and a controller can change the condition of a patient mid-procedure to challenge us, Kavit said. Then, the team can reflect on the simulation and what could have been done better. Students, including those in Riverside’s College of Health Careers, can also get familiar with intensive-care and delivery room settings.
The facility will provide ongoing continuing education for physicians, surgeons, nurses and staff across disciplines, in addition to training for emergency medical services, Kavit said. Access to such training also means doctors trying to maintain their skills or learn new techniques won’t have to travel as much, saving time and money, he said.
Newport News-based general contractor and construction company W.M. Jordan Co., which has worked on multiple Riverside projects, is donating $100,000 for the project, company Executive Chairman John Lawson said.
W.M. Jordan has been using modeling and simulation for 15 years, so Lawson said he knows its value.
“I’m a big believer in continuing education and the use of the latest technology,” Lawson said. “I think you’ll get better health care.”
The goal is to start construction in about six months or so, Witt said. Riverside emergency medical physicians have also personally donated thousands of dollars for the effort, Kavit said.
For more information or to donate, visit riversideonline.com /medsim.