Expanded Healthcare Simulation and Research centre opens at Hamilton’s Mohawk College

Mohawk College opened a “new chapter” in healthcare in Hamilton with the opening of the expanded College Centre for Healthcare Simulation and Research.

Equipped with cutting-edge technology that replicates real-world healthcare environments, the expanded facility, located at the college’s Institute for Applied Health Sciences, increases Mohawk’s capacity for in-demand healthcare programs. The Centre will improve students’ experience in simulation training, allow for new teaching methods and support research in the use of simulation tools in healthcare education.

“Opening the new Centre for Healthcare Simulation signals a new chapter of growth and innovation for healthcare education at Mohawk College,” said Mohawk College President Paul Armstrong. “More students will have access to a safe, controlled environment to experience real-world medical scenarios and develop important skills to equip them for the demands of a rapidly evolving healthcare sector.”

The facility will be available for students in the School of Health programs, such as nursing, medical imaging, pharmacy, cardiovascular technology, personal support worker, and occupational therapy assistant/physiotherapy assistant.

“We are excited to open this renovated and expanded space to allow healthcare students to experience a wide range of clinical scenarios that may not be readily available in local healthcare settings,” said Mohawk Dean of the School of Health Wendy Lawson. “Learners can develop confidence and competence in managing challenging healthcare conditions before encountering them in the field. This experience is a huge benefit for preparing future healthcare professionals.”

The new Centre for Healthcare Simulation includes:

• six high-fidelity simulation suites, complete with advanced manikins for lifelike medical scenarios;
• two Activities of Daily Living apartments, designed to simulate real-life care settings;
• two Virtual Reality and Simulation FlexRooms, offering versatile spaces for mixed-reality learning experiences and detailed debriefing sessions;
• video/audio capture in all spaces;

Debriefing facilities are also available for in-depth analysis and reflection, ensuring that every simulation scenario becomes a powerful learning experience.

Simulation scenarios can be customized to the learners’ needs and learning objectives and can replicate rare disease processes or complex clinical situations that learners might not encounter during regular clinical rotations.

The Centre will also serve as a hub for collaboration between healthcare professionals and researchers across the region, including college partners at McMaster University, Hamilton Health Sciences, and Hamilton’s St. Joseph’s hospitals. It will serve as an incubator for the testing and validation of new medical equipment, with the goal of improving clinical practices and patient outcomes.