RVU SIMS Center Reaccredited by American College of Surgeons

Written by Logan Stott, Marketing Assistant

Rocky Vista University’s (RVU) Office of Simulation in Medicine and Surgery (SIMS) is pleased to announce its official reaccreditation as a Comprehensive Accredited Education Institute (AEI) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) by the Accreditation Review Committee (ARC), which occurred on June 23.

According to the ACS, AEI “accreditation is a demonstration of quality and a commitment to patient safety that provides real value.” As a Comprehensive AEI, RVU has “access [to] cutting edge and contemporary simulation-based surgical education” and can “train the next generation of surgical simulation leaders through fellowship program accreditation, available exclusively to AEIs,” among other benefits.

“We have been able to plan, execute, and analyze successful experiential events with varied learner types,” said Susan Carter, MD, FACOG, FACS, Director of the Office of Simulation in Medicine and Surgery, which oversees the Healthcare Simulation Center. “RVU administrative support for the SIMS Staff and the multiple simulation modalities has been key, as we are able to offer state-of-the-art, hands-on training with cutting-edge technology, which has enhanced instruction to students at all levels.”

According to Dr. Carter, the Office of SIMS has upgraded the Cut Suit™, a Hyper-Realistic® open surgery simulator, with an advanced pump that recirculates artificial blood after suction and allows for enhanced realism during simulated trauma scenarios. The Cut Suit has been used successfully to train residents and general surgeons in the field and at RVU’s Healthcare Simulation Center (HSC).

This is the culmination of a years-long effort, which began when RVU received provisional accreditation as a Focused AEI in 2014, becoming the first and only osteopathic medical school to ever earn accreditation as an AEI, a distinction that it still holds to this day. Three years later, the RVU Office of SIMS met the higher requirements needed to be elevated from a Focused to a Comprehensive AEI, earning provisional accreditation as a Comprehensive AEI in the process. Now, following a 5-year period of strict compliance with the standards for AEIs, and completing a review process that included an on-site visit by AEI surveyors, RVU has earned official accreditation as a Comprehensive AEI and is currently the only AEI in the state of Colorado.