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Clinical Skills Education and Testing Center

The Clinical Skills Education and Testing Center (CSETC) is a 22,000 square-foot facility at the OU Health Sciences Center where students and practicing clinicians engage in simulation to enhance their skills in patient care.

Simulation provides its users with cutting-edge technology and quality interactions that shape the future of health care delivery. Quality and safety in patient care is our goal, and the CSETC plays a significant role in that mission.

Simulation has become a standard in medical education for its ability to improve the quality and safety of patient care. In simulated environments, students practice complex skills in a safe and realistic setting. Simulation is an important system and strategy in training excellent clinicians.

High-fidelity mannequins

Mannequins, both adult and pediatric, feature realistic physical and physiological attributes and simulate a variety of medical conditions. Students work with the full birth simulator to learn how to handle difficult pregnancies. Anesthesiologists practice administering anesthetic agents under difficult conditions. Emergency medicine trainees rehearse responding to various types of trauma. When students practice their skills in a simulated environment, they are better able to use those skills on real patients.

Standardized patients

Individuals from the community serve as Standardized Patients (SPs) at the CSETC. SPs undergo extensive training in order to role-play patients with different symptoms and personalities. This allows students to learn how to take a medical history, perform a physical exam and refine their communication skills, such as delivering bad news or counseling a patient about a disease. SPs give feedback to students, and each encounter is recorded for further review with faculty members.