Page 5 - School of Medicine and Dentistry | University of Rochester Medical Center

Building on its leadership in health Retired after more than 30 years as a
care education, the School of
Medicine and Dentistry has created
an Institute for Innovative Education.
Our Institute will assure that we address extensive changes in
health care and rapidly integrate new technologies and approaches
to health care delivery, train professionals to work in teams, foster
better patient-centered care, and develop quality and safety metrics.
The Institute will also identify and develop common programs and
curricula not only for medical and dental students, but across the
entire medical center including nursing students, residents, fellows,
faculty, physicians, and hospital staff.
The Institute will provide the tools, expertise, and services
to educate and train health care professionals and help them
maintain and update their skills and knowledge throughout
their careers. Our health care professionals will learn how to
collaborate, communicate, share information, and interact with
patients, with the humanism and compassion that have been
the cornerstones of our biopsychosocial model. We will also
develop tools that can be utilized by other medical schools across
the nation.
You can help us keep pace with training and technology
advancements by giving your support to our dedicated 55,000–
square-foot simulation center in the Center for Experiential
Learning. Simulation training uses standardized patients,
computer-based training, and computer-enhanced patient
mannequins that mimic human medical conditions, and is a
critical component in educating health professionals. The facility
will include flexible teaching classrooms, high-fidelity simulation
rooms, areas for study and informal learning, observation areas,
a surgical simulation lab, and a surgical skills classroom. This
will give students and staff the vital learning environment they
need to enhance their clinical skills and become better health care
professionals. The new simulation center will also be a community
resource to help individuals learn what to expect during a visit with
their physician or a hospital stay and how to work effectively with
a health care team.
reading specialist in a suburban Rochester
school district, Barbara Simms discovered
an opportunity to help a different set of
students flourish: medical students. Simms
has played the role of a standardized patient
at the School of Medicine and Dentistry
for more than five years. She works with
medical students and doctors to help
enhance students’ skills in the areas of
interviewing, history taking, diagnosing,
performing physical exams, and counseling.
This involvement led her to help students
financially with the Barbara A. Simms
Endowed Scholarship Fund.
“Establishing this fund is so powerful. By
helping one doctor, I could affect thousands
of people and their health,” said Simms.
Her philanthropy also includes a generous
commitment to support the priority needs
of the School, and support for the annual
Barbara Simms Primary Care Resident
Education Award fund. In 2011, Simms
was presented with the John N. Wilder
Award, which honors an individual, family,
association, corporation, or foundation
whose philanthropy inspires others to
support the School or University.