The Temple College Clinical Simulation Center, recognized as one of the top 10 innovative programs in community colleges in the nation, has become a model for the delivery of clinical education for health care professionals.

Located in the new Health Sciences Center on the TC campus, the Clinical Simulation Center was developed as a college partnership with the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Scott and White, and Laerdal Medical Corp., a leading manufacturer of human patient simulators, to integrate the training of health care professionals and enhance patient care and safety.

The Clinical Simulation Center recently was chosen from nominations from throughout the country as finalist for the prestigious Bellwether Award which recognizes the top 10 innovative programs and practices that are successfully leading community colleges into the future. Sponsored by the Community College Futures Assembly of the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Florida, the Bellwether Award has been compared to football's Heisman Award because it is competitively judged and the award is given by community college peers.

Using highly sophisticated human patient simulators, students are able to experience an unlimited array of virtual scenarios. The center is used in education and research for health care professionals at all levels ranging from Temple College freshmen through medical school students, residents, and continuing education for health care professionals.

The 10,000 square foot facility is a state- of-the-art "mini hospital" which provides a realistic learning environment. The facility includes an ambulance bay with two ambulances, an emergency receiving area with nurses station, two emergency treatment rooms, two intensive care rooms, an operating suite with adjoining scrub room, simulation control room, EMS part-task laboratory, respiratory therapy classroom/laboratory, surgical technology demonstration operating room/classroom, and an interactive smart classroom.

Since its opening last year, The Clinical Simulation Center has gained national and international attention. Visitors have come to tour the facility from throughout Texas and the U. S., including representatives of the University of Pittsburgh, Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Pennsylvania State University, Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence, as well as from Japan, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea.

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