Simulating Excellence: Inside the San’s Clinical Education and Simulation Centre
From high-stakes emergency scenarios to compassionate end-of-life conversations, the Sydney Adventist Hospital’s Simulation Centre plays a critical role in preparing clinicians for real-world care. Located within the purpose-built Clinical Education Centre, the Simulation Centre supports students, nurses and doctors to build skills, confidence and teamwork in a safe, realistic environment.
Purpose-built to replicate real clinical settings, the Simulation Centre features a fully functioning operating theatre and resuscitation bay, supporting immersive, hands-on training across multiple specialties. It enables side-by-side learning for nursing and medical students from Avondale University and the Australian National University, while also serving as an important upskilling resource for junior doctors, senior clinicians and multidisciplinary teams.
2025 Highlights: Simulation In Action
Simulation-based Education (SBE) days are conducted in the Simulation Centre by the Emergency Care (EC) department biannually.
A major highlight in 2025 was an obstetric emergency simulation involving a critically unwell pregnant patient requiring an emergency caesarean section in the Emergency Department. The very next day, the team was able to translate these skills directly to patient care when they encountered a similar real-life presentation. The team managed the patient effectively, with timely intervention.
A second Emergency Care SBE day focused on airway management, giving participants hands-on practice across techniques such as front-of-neck access and suction-assisted laryngoscopy. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with one participant describing it as “the best teaching I have had.”
Surgical Simulation was another 2025 milestone. Developed by Dr Kar Yin Fok, Colorectal and General Surgeon and Conjoint Clinical Senior Lecturer with ANU, this pilot program integrated ward-based deterioration scenarios with operating theatre skills. Final-year medical students managed post-operative complications before moving into the mock theatre to practise suturing and use of stapling devices. Participants described the experience as “really valuable” in developing surgical thinking and confidence.
The Simulation Centre also hosted a pilot End of Life Care and Communication program for Year 4 medical students, focusing on sensitive conversations with patients and families, developed by Emergency Specialist, Dr Savani Fernando and Dr Sandhya Prayaga, Emergency Specialist and Senior lecturer at ANU.
Looking ahead, the Simulation Centre will continue to expand its program in 2026, supported by the installation of new, state-of-the-art equipment. Much of this investment will enhance advanced life support training, positioning the Centre to deliver high-quality ALS education and further strengthening the San’s readiness to support clinicians in managing critical, time-sensitive emergencies.