International accolade for Leeds Met Clinical Simulation Expert

Ann Sunderland won in the category of Excellence in the Academic Setting at the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning Awards in Las Vegas.

A Senior Lecturer in Simulated Practice and Clinical Skills at Leeds Met, Ann said: "I am so thrilled that my work has been recognised at this level. In 2011 I was asked if I would be interested in helping to design Leeds Met's £1m Clinical Skills Suite. I said yes as up until then we did not have a dedicated clinical teaching area and just used normal class rooms. I wrote a protocol and resource guide intended for our own use at Leeds Met, but was generic enough to be applicable anywhere. It contained a model for integrating simulated practice into the curriculum and has been shared internationally and it is for this that I won the award."

The Clinical Skills Suite, which launched at Leeds Met last September, includes specialist facilities, which enable those studying across a range of health professions the opportunity to train using state-of-the-art equipment. It is used by students studying courses including Nursing, Physiotherapy, and Occupational Therapy and consists of a high-tech simulation suite with a critical care bed, high-tech human patient simulator, a film recording system and viewing room, a community living space with a ceiling hoist and adapted equipment as well as four rooms equipped for the teaching and safe practice of a range of healthcare skills.

The life-sized human patient simulator provides physiological responses to those practising care techniques and human factor/non-technical skills on it and is quickly becoming adopted worldwide as the closest and safest way for learners to familiarise themselves with real situations.

Associate Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at Leeds Met, Chris Hudson, added: "The model Ann created means that other institutions can follow the high standards that we are setting here at Leeds Met. The University's well-equipped facilities mean that we can meet the needs of training students in many different professions. We can also provide specialised Continuing Professional Development as we know maintaining high levels of patient safety and ensuring professional competence are crucial to all healthcare staff and their employers. Each year we help more than 2,000 practicing health and social care professionals keep up-to-date with the skills and knowledge they need and our new facilities combined with our new programme will help to strengthen this offering."

The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at Leeds Metropolitan University aims to become the provider of choice for vocational and academic knowledge in Health and Social Sciences through innovation, applied research and pioneering partnerships.

Clinical Skills Suite Images:http://www.flickr.com/photos/49752549@N04/sets/72157634300103396/