Speech by Dr Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister of State for Health, at the Inaugural S3 Conference, 1 November 2017

Professor Ivy Ng, Group CEO, SingHealth

Associate Professor Fatimah Lateef, Director, SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute of Medical Simulation, Singapore 

Mr Lance Baily, Founder and Executive Director, The Gathering of Healthcare Simulation Technology Specialists, USA 

Mrs Sigrun Anna Qvindesland, Simulation Coordinator, Stavanger University Hospital and Stavanger Acute Medicine Foundation for Education and Research Center, Norway 

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen 

Good afternoon.

            It is my pleasure to join you at the S3 Conference organised by the SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute of Medical Simulation (SIMS), the Society in Europe for Simulation Applied to Medicine (SESAM), and The Gathering Of Healthcare Simulation Technology Specialists (SimGHOSTS) from the United States. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our friends and colleagues from Singapore and overseas. 

Importance of Simulation Training in Healthcare

2.         With advances in technology, medical simulation has transformed the way clinical skills training is conducted as it utilises scenarios that are reproducible in real life, and provides consistent and reliable monitoring and feedback in controlled environments.

3.         Simulation training is now an integral part of undergraduate and professional training for healthcare workers. The benefits are well-documented – healthcare professionals develop clinical decision-making skills, competence in performing procedures, and confidence in managing similar scenarios in actual practice.

4.          This shortens the learning curve, improves patient safety and ultimately leads to better clinical outcomes, which is why simulation training is well-received as a mode of healthcare education around the world. 

Singapore’s Capability in the Field of Simulation and Healthcare Education

5.          In Singapore, simulation training has been incorporated into our local education curriculum for medical students. We have also established multiple dedicated simulation centres such as the SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute of Medical Simulation (SIMS), Simulation and Integrated Medical Training Advancement Centre (SIMTAC) in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the Critical Care Nursing Simulation Laboratory in National University Hospital, and the Centre for Healthcare Simulation (CHS) in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS.

6.          These simulation centres provide opportunities for inter-professional education (IPE) and team-based learning in a safe yet highly realistic environment. In 2016, SIMS conducted 500 workshops and trained more than 10,000 local and overseas healthcare professionals in specialised areas such as microsurgery, laparoscopy, obstetric emergencies, and advanced cardiac life support. SIMS also runs medical simulation training for educators who are keen to design and run high-quality simulation-based programmes for use as a teaching tool. 

Latest Innovations in Medical Simulation

7.          Even as we harnass innovation and technology in healthcare, it is exciting to see evolution even within the field of simulation itself. In-situ simulation programmes enable participants to undergo training on-site, as opposed to within simulation labs.  Such programmes have training efficiency as they occur during the weekday using on-duty clinical providers. This reduces scheduling and manpower conflicts, saves costs, and allows skill reinforcement, leading to better retention.

8.          In addition, as a rigorous stress test of hospital systems and processes, in-situ simulation programmes allow for opportunistic recognition of latent hazards as well as proficiency gaps, and reinforcement of desirable individual and team behaviours at the workplace, all whilst mitigating risks to patient safety.

9.          Increasingly, simulation training is also now used in mass casualty incident drills or large-scale disaster triage scenarios involving civil defence officers, paramedics, hospital staff, and medical simulation technicians. The threat of terror attacks is real, and as a nation we must be prepared to manage large-scale catastrophic events.

10.        The S3 Conference organisers have collaborated with the Singapore Civil Defence Force, CAE Healthcare, and Sierra International Medical Training Solutions to conduct a mass casualty incident demonstration involving first responders, healthcare professionals, and medical simulation teams. The demonstration aims to share best practices in pre-hospital trauma care, tactical field care, and acute emergency and resuscitative management. I am sure there will be useful learning for all.

11.        Medical simulation continues to evolve with the incorporation of newer technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and three-dimensional (3D) printing. The ability to create life-like 3D environments and models enable centres to develop unique training scenarios not easily replicated otherwise, and allow trainees to practise specialised technical skills on their own schedules and at their own pace.

12.        Such technologies can provide logistical benefits by catering to multiple trainees at the same time, such as in the use of virtual reality, and reducing the use of finite resources such as cadavers in surgical or anatomy training. These can further be directly applied to patient care. Already, 3D-printed organ models are being used to aid surgeons in planning for complex surgeries, as well as practising new surgical techniques. An example of this in practice is the 3D-printed heart models depicting different congenital heart diseases used in the Cardiac Centre at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH).

Conclusion

13.        As we move forward, it is clear that medical simulation will continue to positively impact and transform practices and protocols in healthcare. Simulation techniques should be used in parallel with traditional teaching methods to further healthcare education and improve patient outcomes.

14.        I wish you all a fruitful conference.