OSF lecture explores how medical simulations foster humanity in health care

Image courtesy of OSF Healthcare

PEORIA, Ill. – Dr. Edward Barksdale Jr. explored how medical simulations can help address social issues during the OSF Pearl Lecture Series at the Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center on Thursday.

Medical simulations include actors who are trained to perform as patients, mimicking real-life scenarios to allow healthcare workers to learn more about the humanity of patients.   

“It’s essentially a safe environment for technical training for team-based learning, system improvement, and now we also focus on human-centered design, and what that is is putting the patient at the center of everything we are thinking about doing,” Media Relations Coordinator for OSF Healthcare, Colleen Reynolds, said.

The environment allows doctors and their healthcare team to practice patient-safe terminology and techniques to maximize positive experiences in real life.

“There’s so many areas of medicine where we are struggling to meet the needs,” Reynolds said. “Our healthcare system is grappling with inequities, violence, social challenges that extend far beyond hospital walls, and so Dr. Barksdale, as a national leader in pediatric surgery, says, ‘the key to progress in helping address all of this might not be new technology,’ but as he puts it, ‘renewed humanity.’”

Many healthcare professionals, as well as leaders in other fields, are debating the use of AI and newer, developing technology. Dr. Barksdale’s speech aimed to address human connection over that with technology. 

“He is really a champion of bringing community into medical simulation so that everyone gives input into the solutions and into allowing the best training possible,” Reynolds said. “Training that promotes empathy and understanding and that is inclusive.”

The Pearl Lecture Series, where Dr. Barksdale spoke, honors Dr. Richard Pearl — a pediatric surgeon, longtime leader at OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois, and a pioneer in medical simulation. Though retired, Dr. Pearl remains active in simulation initiatives with OSF.

“People from throughout the United States come to this Jump Simulation Center to learn about cutting edge technology, about new ways of doing procedures, about team based training and how to work better as a team, and again, solving some of these other medical challenges that we face,” Reynolds said.

More information can be found at osfinnovation.org.