Simulation technology is being implemented to medical training and assessment on a national level in Russia and throughout this exciting development, the Russian Society for Simulation Education in Medicine (ROSOMED) has played a vital role. We asked Dr. Maxim Gorshkov, Head of Presidium of ROSOMED, to share insights on the collaboration with the Russian Heath Care Ministry and how VirtaMed’s advanced virtual reality simulators are becoming an integral part of medical education.
Established in 2012, ROSOMED brings together close to 500 industry professionals predominantly from the field of medical education that share enthusiasm for medical simulation educational technologies. Highly focused on improving the quality of medical care and increasing patient safety, the society advocates promotion of the simulation techniques into the healthcare education and medical practice through initiatives such as workshops, yearly conventions and journal issues. A milestone on the path of validating simulation technology in healthcare in Russia took place in the course of the reformation of the national system of medical training, when cooperation was established between ROSOMED and the Russian Heath Care Ministry.
Reflecting on this period, Dr. Gorshkov notes:
“American scientists consider medical errors as the third cause of mortality. That challenge has been recognised by Russian Health Care Ministry that started a reformation of the medical education several years ago. Two concepts were brand new: introduction of CME (Continuous Medical Education) and usage of simulation methods for training and assessment. We, as a national simulation society recognized that our expertise can be useful and offered our service to the Ministry. Since several years, working groups of the experts from ROSOMED provide their proposals on OSCE in numerous medical specialties to the Ministry.”
Working closely towards the goal of implementing practical proficiency assessment to the evaluation of future doctors across the country, ROSOMED and the Russian Ministry of Health Care developed simulation stations (OSCE) for the primary accreditation of the students graduating from medical universities and for the primary specialized accreditation of the post-graduates.
Testing of practical skills in a simulated environment has been a part of the primary accreditation of the graduates in Russia since 2016, with around 77 000 future doctors completing the simulation exam for basic practical skills in 84 simulation centers to this date.
Assessment of the practical skills of post-graduates is being successfully implemented and covers around 100 medical specialties and 80 simulation centers in Russia. This year, skills in general practice, paediatrics, therapy, cardiology, neurology and oncology are being assessed at the simulation stations for the state primary specialized accreditation.
On cooperation of ROSOMED with VirtaMed in this domain, Dr. Gorshkov notes:
“VirtaMed has provided us with their unique experience in the training and assessment of the residents in different countries and specialties, first of all in Switzerland and France for the education of the orthopaedic residents and objective tests of their proficiency.”
Dr. Gorshkov explains that the upcoming year will be prosperous with further specialties implemented in the post-graduate state exam in Russia:
“In 2020 the specialised accreditation of the surgical residents will be started, followed by accreditation of residents in orthopaedics, gynaecology, urology and other narrow specialties. We do hope that the virtual technologies will become a solid part of these exams.”
Based on long-term experience with simulation technologies complemented by his medical background, Dr. Gorshkov shares his observations on the role of virtual reality simulators in the field of medical training and assessment:
“Simulators in VR and AR will become the main tool in the pre-clinical training of practical skills and complete procedures. Students (residents) without simulation course will be not allowed to the OR or to the other educational modalities in the real clinical settings. No patient contact without preliminary simulation experience. The proficiency will be approved using the VR and AR simulators. This approval will be kind of a “driving license” allowing further clinical training to the advanced level.”
As emphasized by Dr. Gorshkov, approval gained on medical training simulators enables the resident to move to the next step of training in the clinics involving real patients. The most meaningful benefits of a simulator from his perspective include total controllable and steerable educational environment, objective assessment, immediate response and feedback that allows reflexivity of the educational process.
Dr. Gorshkov is confident that implementing simulation to medical education leads to improvement of key areas in healthcare such as patient safety:
“There are numerous studies, both international and Russian confirming that simulation training improves outcomes in Health Care, decreases medical errors and increases the quality of the medical services.”
Fast-paced advancement is taking effect for medical simulation technologies in Russia and we look forward to future developments showcasing simulation as an established method for the evaluation of future doctors, enabling to attain high quality medical care and better patient outcomes on a national level.
Contact us to learn more on how to streamline medical training and assessment with VirtaMed.
