V4 Network of Medical Simulation Centres: Building Good Practices

Project implementation period:

from January 2023 to July 2024

The “V4 Network of Medical Simulation Centres: Building Good Practices” Project is realized by Lazarski University in Warsaw, Poland, and in partnership with Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, University of Szeged in Hungary, and Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Slovakia.
The Project’s aims are to promote medical simulation training, cooperation in the V4 region, and raise awareness of the region's potential as a valuable international partner in a growing global medical simulation industry.

In the wake of COVID-19, there was a rise in research development and innovation, especially in healthcare. Among many discoveries, it became apparent that medical simulation centres (MSC) are not only about state-of-the-art medical technology, but most of all, about creating a safe yet high fidelity real-world environment for medical training. It became clear that the MSC in the V4 region could benefit from an opportunity to share and exchange experiences as well as teaching methods that could lead to the development of high quality standards in medical simulation education.

Our initial research showed that there are 28 MSC in the V4 region, but they have not yet formed a network or association. Therefore, one of the main objectives of the Project is to build such a network and to promote it extensively.

In order to encourage and facilitate cooperation among MSC in the V4 region, the Project’s first goal is to map out all MSC in the V4 region and produce the first ever “V4 Online Medical Simulation Centre Database” that will be made available here.

Next, Project Partners will meet in-person and participate in hands-on workshops at Partner MSC and multiplier events. The findings from these workshops and discussions will provide the basis for the publication of a scientific paper on “V4 Medical Simulation Centre Best Practices.”

The Project received a Visegrad Grant in the amount of 28,200.00 EUR from the International Visegrad Fund which is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

We hope the “V4 Network of Medical Simulation Centres: Building Good Practices” Project will lay the foundation for advancing V4 MSC competencies and potential in the very important and evolving field of medical simulation education.

About the partners

Lazarski University

Since its foundation in 1993, Lazarski University skilfully combines innovative teaching techniques with traditional educational standards. Over 4500 Polish and international students can obtain a comprehensive education in law, economics, business, political science and medicine, the core subject areas taught at Lazarski University, as well as gain practical skills from a faculty of 250 distinguished masters and experienced professionals. Lazarski University ranks among the top private universities in Poland and its Faculty of Law and Administration maintains first place for five consecutive years. To ensure that the curricula respond to today's fast-changing market expectations, Lazarski University has appointed a Business Council. Lazarski University graduates are equipped to pursue their career choices and 76.1% of students find job placements before they complete their studies. In response to the ongoing needs of the healthcare system, Lazarski University established in 2016 a Faculty of Medicine which now offers a 6-year medical programme and a 3-year nursing programme. Since 1 October 2019, students can also practice their clinical skills in the University’s state-of-the-art MedExcellence Medical Simulation Centre. The Faculty of Medicine developed the V4 project and is eager to work with Partners to establish a network of medical simulation centres in the V4 region and advance medical simulation training by sharing best practices.

Delfina Swieckowska, M.A.
International Projects Officer
Structural Projects Department
(+48) 500 167 406
international@lazarski.edu.pl

Olga Aniołek DVM, PhD
Vice Dean for International Cooperation
Faculty of Medicine
(+48) 512 756 086
olga.aniolek@lazarski.pl

Lazarski University
Świeradowska 43 Street
02-662, Warsaw
www.lazarski.pl

Project Partners:

University of Szeged

The University of Szeged is ranked the best in Hungary. Some 22,000 students, including nearly 5,000 international students enrich their knowledge in programmes offered by 12 faculties. The mission of our University – which is inseparable from teaching - is to maintain its internationally competitive research university character and to ensure European quality in medical work. In 2019, the University of Szeged became a member of the European University Alliance for Global Health (EUGLOH). This initiative brings together five universities from across Europe and their expertise in global health to build the RUGLOH European University of the future. Prof. Boros and his team at the Clinical Skills Centre and Institute of Surgical Research of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Szeged join the V4 project to offer their long and vast experience in developing simulated surgical training techniques based on the latest technology in the field.

Prof. Mihaly Boros
Director - Institute of Surgical Research & Clinical Skills Centre
Faculty of Medicine

University of Szeged
13 Dugonics Square
Szeged, 6722
(+36) 62 545 103
office.expsur@med.u-szeged.hu
www.u-szeged.hu

Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice

The Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice (UPJS) was established in 1959 as the second classical university in Slovakia. The key mission of P. J. Šafárik University in Košice is to provide higher education based on the newest scientific findings, in a wide international context, following the European trends and goals laid out in the Bologna Declaration and other documents. The University consists of five faculties that prepare over 7500 national and international students annually to become professionals in different fields including physicians and dentists, experts in natural sciences, mathematics and informatics, teachers, lawyers, specialists in public administration and in psychology, philosophy and theory of communication. UPJS in Košice co-operates very intensively with academic institutions all around the world and belongs to recognised research and scientific institutions. Slovakia’s six top research teams are based at the University’s scientific parks and centres MEDIPARK, PROMATECH and TECHNICOM. The University is also committed to integrating modern ICT technologies and e-learning tools into its curriculum. By participating in the V4 project, UPJS in Košice will be able to share its experience and expertise in this area with other medical simulation centres in the V4 region.

Jaroslav Majerník, Associate Professor
Head – Department of Medical Informatics and Simulator Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
(+421) 55 234 3341
jaroslav.majernik@upjs.sk

Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice
Šrobárova 2
Kosice, 041 80
www.upjs.sk/en/

Masaryk University

Masaryk University is based in Brno, in the Czech Republic. has a staff of over 5,000 (more than 2,000 academics), which makes it the leading employer in South Moravia and the leading public university in the whole of Moravia as well as the second largest in the Czech Republic. It is one of the fastest-expanding universities in Europe with a the total student body of more than 40,000 and over 7,000 international students enrolled in programmes in over 200 different departments, institutes and clinics. Masaryk University is a leading research institution and offers courses across the full spectrum of traditional and contemporary fields, but with a particular focus on science. The Simulation Centre of the Masaryk University Faculty of Medicine (SIMU) is a newly opened and one of the largest simulation centres in Europe. SIMU is recognized internationally for its high standards and comprehensive incorporation of simulation technology and techniques in medical education, taking medical curriculum development to the next level. Partnering with an institution of such quality and sophistication presents a promising potential for growth among the medical simulation centres (MSC) in the V4 region.

Mgr. Jan Dvořáček, DiS.
Head of Simulation Centre
Faculty of Medicine
(+420) 549 49 1350
dvoracek@med.muni.cz

Masaryk University
Kamenice 5
Brno, 625 00
www.med.muni.cz/simu/en

Project implementation

Partners Showcased in the "V4 Network of Medical Simulation Centres: Building Good Practices" Official Online Project Launch

Lazarski University and Partners met online to officially launch the "V4 Network of Medical Simulation Centers: Building Good Practices" project funded by the International Visegrad Fund (IVF) Visegrad Grant programme.

The official online project launch was an opportunity for Partners to showcase their medical simulation centres. We invite you to view the video.

Featured in the video are all project Partners:

Masaryk University SIMU Simulation Centre
University of Szeged Clinical Skills Centre
Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice Center of Simulator and Virtual Medicine
Lazarski University MedExcellence Medical Simulation Centre

The next stage of the "V4 Network of Medical Simulation Centers: Building Good Practices" project entails building the first ever online database of in the Visegrad region. Each Partner will contribute information about medical simulation centers operating in their country.

The online database of V4 medical simulation centers will be made available on the project website in June 2023.

News

On the 1st of February 2023, the Faculty of Medicine MedExcellence Medical Simulation Centre formally started the implementation of the project entitled “V4 Network of Medical Simulation Centres: Building Good Practices.”

This is the first (International Visegrad Fund – IVF) project to be realised by Lazarski University. Visegrad Grants support regional partnerships among the Visegrad Group countries (V4) - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, as well as Eastern Europe and the Balkans, in areas like culture, education, innovation, entrepreneurship, social development and sustainable development.

Project's goals are to promote medical simulation training, cooperation in V4 region and to raise awareness of region's potential as a valuable international partner in a growing global medical simulation industry. Lazarski University is the Project Coordinator with the Faculty of Medicine MedExcellence Medical Simulation Centre at the helm and supported by the Structural Projects Department. Project Partners include leading medical simulation centres from top universities in the Visegrad region (V4):

University of Szeged Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School Clinical Skills Centre
Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice (UPJŠ) Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Informatics and Simulator Medicine
Masaryk University Faculty of Medicine Department of Simulation Medicine

The project “V4 Network of Medical Simulation Centres: Building Good Practices” received IVF funding in the amount of 28, 200.00 EUR to produce an online database of V4 medical simulation centres and undergo study visits to each Project Partners’ medical simulation centre. The result of these meetings will be a joint publication on best practices which can serve as a foundation for standardized medical simulation training in the Visegrad region.

Visit the Project’s website to learn more about the Project and its Partners, as well as upcoming events.

Official Online Project Launch Presentation about the project's goals and about each participating institution: 1. Lazarski University (Coordinator); 2. University of Szeged (Partner); 3. Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice (UPJS) (Partner); 4. Masaryk University (Partner)	28th of February 2023	Event is public	Online with the participation of Partners located in Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia
Publication of Online V4 Medical Simulation Center Database The database will contain a brief but detailed description in English on every medical simulation center (MSC) in the Visegrad region.	30th of June 2023	Event is public	Online
2-day in-person workshop and multiplier event no. 1: "Integrating medical simulation technology into medical teaching" at Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice (UPJS) Project Partner Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice (UPJS) will host a hands-on workshop on "Integrating medical simulation technology into medical teaching" for selected project Partner participants on the first day, and invite additional non-project participants to a multiplier event on the second day to present and discuss findings.	September 2023	Event is private	Slovakia, Kosice
2-day in-person workshop and multiplier event no. 2: "Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) communication technique in simulation-based medical education" at University of Szeged Project Partner University of Szeged will host a hands-on workshop on "Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) communication technique in simulation-based medical education" for selected project Partner participants on the first day, and invite additional non-project participants to a multiplier event on the second day to present and discuss findings.	November 2023	Event is private	Hungary, Szeged
2-day in-person workshop and multiplier event no. 3: "Simulation-based medical education and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE)" at Masaryk University in Brno Project Partner Masaryk University will host a hands-on workshop on "Simulation-based medical education and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE)" for selected project Partner participants on the first day, and invite additional non-project participants to a multiplier event on the second day to present and discuss findings.	January 2024	Event is private	Czech Republic, Brno
2-day in-person workshop and multiplier event no. 4: "The use of Standardized Patients (SP) in simulation-based medical education" at Lazarski University in Warsaw Project Coordinator Lazarski University will host a hands-on workshop on "The use of Standardized Patients (SP) in simulation-based medical education" for selected project Partner participants on the first day, and invite additional non-project participants to a multiplier event on the second day to present and discuss findings.	February 2024	Event is private	Poland, Warsaw
Publication of scientific paper on "V4 Medical Simulation Center Best Practices" The scientific paper on "V4 Medical Simulation Center Best Practices" will be published in English and will contain best practices that were reached on the topics presented and discussed during the 2-day workshops and multiplier events.	24th of July 2024	Event is public	Online