(L-R): Professor Gerry Gormley, Chair in Simulation and Clinical Skills in the Centre for Medical Education (CME) at Queen's University Belfast; Professor Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast; Professor Karen Morrison, Dean of Education in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences at Queen’s; and Professor Stuart Elborn, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Acting) at Queen's University Belfast. They are pictured alongside Queen's University InterSim students, and an InterSim Centre volunteer patient.

The Centre was officially opened by Professor Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University, at an event on Tuesday 30 May 2023.

The launch of the KN Cheung SK Chin InterSim Centre is the culmination of a five-year philanthropic project that began in 2018 and has been built thanks to the generosity of the University’s alumni and friends. It is one of only a few centres in the UK, and the first in Northern Ireland, to champion simulation-based education with an interprofessional focus.

The InterSim Centre is a groundbreaking development for the University and will provide experiential learning for the next generation of healthcare professionals. Medical, nursing and midwifery, dentistry and pharmacy students will train together in interactive simulation scenarios that closely replicate the real clinical world.

The Centre features a range of technical and clinical equipment, including specialist humanoid manikins used to simulate a variety of healthcare scenarios. The Centre also works with simulated patients to equip students with the necessary behavioural and communication skills to be able to deal sensitively and effectively with patients when in real clinical practice.

During the pandemic the Centre was crucial in providing Queen's health professions’ students with the opportunity to catch up on missed training on clinical placements. Students were able to practise their clinical skills in a safe environment, before transferring them into clinical practice. In August 2021 the Centre officially opened to all students.

Commenting on the launch, Professor Gerry Gormley, Chair in Simulation and Clinical Skills in the Centre for Medical Education (CME) at Queen's University Belfast, said: “The InterSim Centre is an incredible resource that will support us in our aim to promote excellence in the education of healthcare professionals through an interprofessional simulation-based approach that drives safe, effective and collaborative care, now and in the future.”

Professor Karen Morrison, Dean of Education in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences at Queen’s, adds: “While the Centre truly is state-of-the-art in terms of the manikins and simulated spaces that include a Highly Immersive Virtual Environment (HIVE) zone, complete with 360 degree image projection and sound and smell effects, its key educational value rests in the expertise of the multidisciplinary clinical staff who plan and deliver the simulated scenarios, honed from years of actual clinical practice, with skills in guiding and then debriefing the students, encouraging dialogue and promoting effective learning.”

Helen Carrick, Assistant Director of Philanthropy at Queen’s University Belfast, said: “Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends of the University we raised £2m which, along with a £1m investment from the University, made it possible to fund this new clinical skills training centre. The Centre has already been pivotal in equipping our students for working in the NHS.

“This substantial investment in facilities has not only developed our historic campus into an innovative research environment but it has also transformed learning for our students and staff. We are immensely grateful to the generous donors who make this all possible and for the encouragement, hope, and opportunities that they provide.”

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Media inquiries to Sian Devlin at s.devlin@qub.ac.uk