Practice Makes Perfect
The NUHCS Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery (CTVS)
Simulation Centre is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia
PULSE Issue 41 | July 2023
NUHCS’ Department of CTVS has
over the years worked towards becoming the centre of excellence in
the region despite the sparsity of
resources and manpower. Several
programmes were streamlined to
benchmark a higher standard of care
including Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery (MICS), Aortic Surgery,
Structural Heart, and Extracorporeal Life Support. One such initiative
to improve the standard of training
at NUHCS is the development of the
CTVS Simulation Centre.
The CTVS Simulation Centre has
been in the pipeline for several years
following funding courtesy of a donation from the Chu Family, with the objective of providing training to
the next generation of surgeons for
better patient care. It is designed to
spearhead contemporary surgery in
the field of CTVS through advanced
simulation training and education.
Various state-of-the-art simulators
have been obtained over the years to
advance specialised training, including the Maastricht Minimally Invasive
Mitral Valve Simulator amongst numerous others. These will be housed
within the Advanced Surgical Training Centre and the Medical School
Simulation Centre.
The Simulation Centre provides
hands-on advanced surgical training
to surgeons at various levels of expertise, including residents familiarising
with certain specialised surgical skills
to senior surgeons honing special
skillsets in niche areas of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery. The Centre also serves as a hub for training
workshops for local, regional, and international participants. It could also
be a space for virtual reality learning
and proctoring.
Education through simulation plays
an important role in ensuring a high
minimum standard for performing
niche surgery even before providing such advanced procedural options to patients. Such training enhances safety standards during live
operations and improves overall
surgeon skills in areas that demand
a high level of proficiency and dexterity. The Simulation Centre serves
as a platform for educational exchange through wider local and
regional participation in simulation
workshops. This ultimately raises
the regional benchmark for quality
for quality cardiothoracic and vascular surgery.
Development of the Simulation
Centre was curtailed due to the
COVID pandemic, when resources were redirected elsewhere. The
CTVS Simulation Centre officially opened during a comprehensive inauguration ceremony and
workshop event held on 10 to 11
March 2023, graced by prominent
local and international faculty. It
marked the start of more collaborative workshops to support the
local and regional surgical community in CTVS to advance their skills
in an ever-advancing field.
NUHCS is proud to be the first in
the region to cater to such a level
of CTVS simulation training where
advanced training equipment can
be readily accessible to trainees and
specialist surgeons alike. Through
industry-sponsored workshops, the
setup can be further utilised for specialised surgical proctoring. We look
forward to a new paradigm in CTVS
surgical training.
