New surgical simulation suite is dedicated

See one, do one, teach one?

Not any more.

A dedication ceremony was held Thursday for the new Dr. Wayne and Eileen Ryan Surgical Simulation Suite.

“This allows us to come as close to a real experience with a real patient as is currently possible,” said Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine. “It takes us to a whole new level of the ability to simulate experiences in the real world for our students and residents, and for that matter, even for physicians who are already out in the community.”

Modeled after the simulation center at the Mayo Clinic, the surgical suite is the most technologically advanced in the country and will allow UNMC to become a regional training and testing site for medical students. Only one-third of all medical schools in the United States have a simulation center.

See KETV coverage of the event here.

“The field of surgery has changed,” said Chandra Are, M.B.B.S. “We’ve seen more changes in the last 20 years than in the 100 previous years.”

See photos from the event.

In a time when what is current today can be obsolete tomorrow, Dr. Are said, “This center has the potential to become a regional educational powerhouse.”

The suite was made possible by a $1 million gift from Wayne Ryan, Ph.D. and his late wife Eileen. Dr. Ryan, the chairman, CEO and founder of Streck Labs, is a former biochemistry and research associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the UNMC College of Medicine.

Dr. Ryan, on hand for the dedication with members of his family, said he was glad to help the College of Medicine move forward.

“There’s only one place I know that even comes close to what they have and that’s Mayo Clinic, but I don’t think theirs is nearly as sophisticated as this one is,” said Dr. Ryan.

The new facility simulates what happens in a modern operating room and features high-tech mannequins and an audio-visual retrieval system that allows students and teachers to enhance learning by reviewing training sessions.

“We haven’t touched what we can do with it,” said Patti Carstens, program manager in the clinical skills center. “We tried to be as flexible as we can, because we know we’re probably never going to get a donation like this again. We built it for now and the future.”

“We can now see many and do many before we ever do one on a real patient,” said Dr. Are.

Through a partnership agreement, the facility also will be used by students and faculty at Creighton University Medical School.

1 comment

  1. Pat Durick says:

    Very nice gift by a consummate teacher. Congratulations to Dr. Ryan.

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