News The Big 0-5: A Number of Successes for CEC

Cake and candles are what one would expect to celebrate a 5-year-old's birthday. But for the Clinical Education Center (CEC) at Brackenridge, there are more significant numbers as CEC staff and others gathered Monday in the building's student lounge to mark the milestone. Here are a few:

-- 148,018 - number of participants in CEC classes and other activities during FY 12. That's up from 84,842 during FY 09.
-- 13,000+ -- number of education and training experiences provided to health care students and professionals since the CEC opened.
-- 1,887 - number of requests received during FY 12 by the Medical Library, which is part of the CEC. That's up from 1,195 in FY 09.
-- 1,128 - number of nurse residents trained at the CEC through FY 12.
-- 4 - number of Seton hospitals the CEC supported as they successfully sought trauma center designation (University Medical Center Brackenridge, Dell Children's Medical Center, Seton Medical Center Williamson and Seton Medical Center Hays).
-- 10 - number of Seton hospitals where the CEC has conducted on-site training (the four listed above, plus Seton Medical Center Austin, Seton Shoal Creek Hospital, Seton Southwest Hospital, Seton Northwest Hospital, Seton Highland Lakes and Seton Edgar B. Davis).

"It is absolutely amazing to realize that a very small group of dedicated and talented CEC staff has been able to accomplish so much," said Vice President of Nursing Education, Practice and Research and CEC Administrator Yvonne VanDyke, RN, MSN. "They have been at the center of this success. As we celebrate this anniversary, I salute and thank our devoted and enthusiastic CEC team."

The CEC opened August 27, 2007, but its roots go back to late 2006, when Seton CEO Charles Barnett created a task force to generate innovative ideas for what had been Children's Hospital of Austin, adjacent Brackenridge. Community leaders were joined by representatives of other institutions on the task force, including The University of Texas at Austin and several of its schools, including Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work and Public Policy; the UT Medical Branch in Galveston; Concordia University; and Austin Community College.

Today, the CEC is a state-of-the-art teaching facility loaded with breakthrough technologies. It has over 50 interactive manikins; four fully functioning, patient care Skill Labs with 45 patient care areas; and eight Simulation Labs, four of which have digital recording capabilities.

The University of Texas Southwestern plays a significant role in the CEC. UTSW medical residents regularly use the CEC's simulation technology in their training. The building itself houses (or soon will house) dedicated areas for residents in internal medicine, emergency medicine, general surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, family medicine, neurology, transitional medicine, physical medicine, neurosurgery and dermatology. The CEC also is home to UTSW's offices and the Office of Research Administration - and soon will house the new Seton/UTSW clinical research center.

To facilitate teaching in the 21st century, training rooms are wired with built-in audiovisual technology; audience response systems are available along with a host of the latest instructional and simulation aids. Two computer labs and seven conference rooms also are available.

Study after study shows that the highest-quality healthcare results come from an interprofessional approach. The CEC encourages participation not just by physicians and nurses, but students and professionals engaged in respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, phlebotomists, technicians and clinical assistants, public health, bioengineering, informatics, social work, pharmacy, law, psychology and government. The interdisciplinary approach is intended to preserve the health care safety net and prepare the next generation of health professionals.

In addition to general instruction and development of interdisciplinary skills, initiatives focus on areas of community need that highlight different health care skills and perspectives, such as chest pain; stroke certification; and medical errors and patient safety.

The CEC's eight operating rooms have been re-imagined as simulation labs to support professional training. One is configured as a labor and delivery room; others can replicate any type of health care environment such as an emergency room or intensive care unit. Four of the simulation labs include microphones and video cameras. During full-scale simulations, instructors observe and coordinate faculty and medical actors through wireless intercoms, as well as modify the simulation in progress and provide a voice for the patient through a speaker in the manikin.

The CEC's Skills Labs provide opportunities to practice patient care in a simulated hospital setting. Learners develop skill proficiency and improve critical decision-making through skill and contextual learning environment. Patient lift equipment and active head wall units complete the immersive training environment.

Goals:

-- To expand and enhance medical education
-- Maintain a state-of-the-art simulation center
-- Improve patient outcomes through collaborative education among all healthcare professionals using the facility
-- Create a unique education environment and opportunity for all allied health professionals
-- Increase enrollment in nursing programs and improve preparedness among graduate nurses
-- Implement creative faculty models to support increased enrollment in nursing programs