The $5.5 million construction on Vanderbilt University's Medical Center's (VUMC) Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment's (CELA) new 12,000-square-foot lab has just been completed and is composed of two programs - the Program in Human Simulation and the Simulation Technologies Program.

The Program in Human Simulation sets up clinical practices for learners to improve their interpersonal skills using mannequins to serve as patients.

Mannequins are used at the CELA when a standardized patient can't effectively carry out patient symptoms.

The mannequins are computer-based and capable of doing things physiologically just like humans.

The program uses individuals to accurately portray patients, family members, clinicians or others the student would come across in real-life situations.

"The Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment provides a safe and controlled environment where medical education can be enhanced by allowing the practice of a wide range of clinical scenarios without the consequences of real world learning," said Lisa Rawn, M.A., director of the Program in Human Simulation.

The Simulation Technologies Program uses technology to provide a way to safely practice routine physical and behavioral skills through the use of computer-based training, partial task training, virtual reality training and realistic mannequin-based simulation.

Several medical schools across the nation have incorporated an idea similar to CELA into their educational programs. Vanderbilt's center is unique due to its comprehensive single center for simulation.

"A lot of schools have both programs, but they are run as separate entities," said John Shatzer, Ph. D. "We can bring assessment experts in to create the whole situation."

According to Shatzer, CELA is "a world-class facility that provides an educationally rich environment for training health care professionals to practice safe, effective and compassionate clinical care."