History of development

In order to improve the practical training of students in medical specialties, the Practical Training Laboratory of the Educational Institution "Gomel State Medical University" was established by Rector's Order No. 407 dated December 21, 2015.

Starting from the 2021 academic year, the practical training laboratory relocated and is now situated on the 5th floor of the main building. That same year, the first objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in the discipline "First Aid" was conducted for 10th-semester students of all faculties.

Since 2022, the "Standardized patient" methodology has been introduced and utilized for the discipline "Professional communications in medicine" in collaboration with the Gomel youth theater, the department of public health and healthcare, and the faculty of advanced training and personnel retraining.

In February 2022, the Practical Training Laboratory was renamed the Educational Center for Practical Training and Simulation-Based Learning. The "Argus" system was implemented in the center's operations. This system enables remote interaction with examinees without the physical presence of an examiner in the room. Magnetic locks on classroom doors allow for the organization of a controlled access system for assessments, prevent re-entry of examinees into the examination room, and enable the identification of candidates without announcing their personal data.

Since March 2023, the Educational center has been headed by Mikhail Vasilyevich Radovnya.

New prospects have emerged in the center's development: the first stage of accreditation by the Russian Society for Simulation Training in Medicine (ROSOMED) has been completed, and new mannequins have been acquired. The center's annual attendance has increased to 26,000 visits. Students of the medical university, after completing practical training at the center and consolidating it in practice, return to take the OSCE.

The center implements programs in the disciplines "First Aid," "Medical Care and Manipulative Techniques," and training courses for the public without medical education, schoolchildren, representatives and employees of law enforcement agencies, cash-in-transit personnel, sanitary squads, and civil defense specialists from enterprises in the city and district. Training programs for doctors and teachers on advanced training courses are also conducted. The staff has increased to 12 assistants, 3 specialists, and a software engineer. The Center's instructors and staff participate in various events held at the medical university and beyond, including conferences, Olympiads, seminars, workshops, career guidance work, and delivering lectures at universities in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. For the first time, a "Simulation-Based Learning" section was introduced at the scientific student conference "Problems and Prospects for the Development of Modern Medicine." Students from the "Hummingbird" First Aid Medical Volunteer Unit, established at the Center, actively assist in conducting these events.

In September 2024, a branch of the Educational Center for Practical Training and Simulation-Based Learning was opened at the State Healthcare Institution "Gomel City Emergency Medical Care Clinical Hospital."

To organize and conduct ongoing and final assessments for students, interns, residents, and doctors, and to unify the regulatory framework according to a single standard in the Republic of Belarus, in 2024 the educational center for practical training and simulation-based learning was renamed the simulation and certification center.

Cooperation with simulation centers in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation is actively developing.