From Surgery to Home Care
Inside the Top-Tier Facilities of DMU’s Simulation Center
Simulations provide highly realistic, hands-on experiences to help you learn and practice before interacting with actual patients. The Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences Simulation Center replicates active medical settings with authentic equipment, personnel, sounds and even smells. These scenarios focus on developing your clinical reasoning skills, communication, leadership, teamwork and interprofessional relationships, all essential for your success in the medical field.
With state-of-the-art resources, DMU’s Simulation Center is committed to fostering an environment where you will grow, excel and launch a successful career in health care.
High-Fidelity Manikins
Our simulation laboratory features several high-fidelity manikins, including adults, birthing manikins, infants and adolescents. These manikins mimic human physiological functions such as blood pressure, reactive pupils, working tear ducts and heart and lung sounds.
Adams Task Training Lab
In this lab, you will practice common procedures like starting an IV, obtaining blood samples, inserting a bladder catheter, administering medications, treating wounds and even performing surgical procedures. Whether mastering fundamental techniques or refining advanced procedures, students benefit from immersive experiences that bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
DMU is at the forefront of integrating VR/AR technology to offer dynamic, responsive training scenarios that enhance the realism of the learning experience. Tech-enabled learning with VR/AR sharpens your diagnostic and procedural skills needed in today’s fast-evolving health care landscape.
Rakowski Surgical Skills Lab and Wojciechowski Trauma Lab
These spaces replicate the high-pressure settings of both operating and emergency rooms. In the Rakowski Surgical Skills Lab, you will practice various surgical techniques. Equipped with surgical tables, surgical instruments and sterile sinks, this lab provides a realistic setting for you to hone your surgical skills.
In the Wojciechowski Trauma Lab, you are immersed in the urgent atmosphere of emergency medical care. Here, you learn how to respond swiftly to life-threatening injuries and medical emergencies. The trauma lab can also be flexibly utilized as an operating room training space.
Home Care Lab
This lab is a specialized area for occupational therapy and physical therapy students to learn. Designed to resemble an apartment with a bedroom, living area, restroom and more, it allows students to simulate in-home health services. You will gain hands-on experience by practicing essential skills such as patient assessments, adaptive equipment use and home safety evaluations.
Clinical Examination Rooms and Human Simulation Lab
As a DMU student, you’ll benefit from this cutting-edge facility, which plays a crucial role in your journey to becoming a competent and compassionate health care provider.
Featuring 16 rooms equipped with exam tables, video cameras, microphones and computers, the exam rooms allow for formative practice, comprehensive assessments and remote faculty evaluations. You will gain hands-on experience in these exam rooms, allowing you to refine your clinical skills and receive personalized, real-time feedback from faculty evaluators.
Standardized Patients
Standardized patients are individuals trained to portray real patients and simulate a set of symptoms or problems used for health care education, evaluation and research. About 100 standardized patients are on call at DMU to support training and assessment of clinical care.
Advanced Ultrasound Training
DMU’s simulation training includes an ultrasound training simulator and eight ultrasound trainers, which accelerate the development of psychomotor and cognitive skills for probe handling, image interpretation, diagnosis and decision-making.
LearningSpace Management Platform
LearningSpace, the Simulation Center’s management platform, offers a 360-degree view of simulation training, performance and outcomes. This platform empowers faculty to assess, monitor and debrief simulations with high-definition video, real-time annotations and robust reporting features. Fully customizable data insights support research, records retention and curriculum advancement, helping develop the next generation of healthcare professionals.
