The Healthcare Simulation Center located at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Bryant Center has received five-year national accreditation from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH).  The accreditation is in the area of Teaching & Education. 

“All seven Core Standards and the four Education Standards were successfully met with minimal recommendations,” said Dr. Joan Hendrix, associate vice president of the Health Sciences Division. “As an accredited teaching and education training center within MGCCC’s Health Sciences Division, instructional health care opportunities at Gulf Coast are endless. Our students benefit from the exacting protocol and nationally approved curriculum used at the center. A huge thank you to all involved with making this happen. A special thanks to Dr. Stephanie Roberts, Simulation director; her team; and all others who regularly assist with simulation.”

Recognizing that simulation represents a paradigm shift in health care education, SSH promotes improvements in simulation technology, educational methods, practitioner assessment, and patient safety that promote better patient care and can improve patient outcomes.

“The Simulation Center offers an enhanced realistic environment for students to practice,” said Roberts.  “Multiple modalities are used within the Simulation Center to include standardized patients, role playing, high-fidelity manikins and task trainers. The Simulation Center immerses learners in a realistic holistic patient experiences where they can grow in critical thinking, teamwork and communication skills before going to a real clinical environment. This recognition allows MGCCC to demonstrate the extraordinary educational and simulation curriculum generated to enhance the graduate’s learning of health care.” 

Established in 2004 by professionals using simulation for education, testing and research in health care, the society boasts membership that includes physicians, nurses, allied health and paramedical personnel, researchers, educators, and developers from around the world.  SSH fosters the improvement and application of simulation-based methods such as human patient simulators, virtual reality, standardized patients and task trainers.