Business community meets Medical School’s Sim-Man

Feb 15, 2007

A fortnight after the University of Wollongong’s first medical students began their studies, the region’s business community had the chance to inspect their new high-tech home.

UOW hosted a cocktail party at the Graduate School of Medicine on Tuesday night (13 February) for more than 200 members of The Illawarra Connection (TIC) business networking group.

Guests had the opportunity to tour the GSM Building, and watch demonstrations of the life-size simulated patients, called Sim-man, that the university has purchased to teach their students. These computer-controlled mannequins can be programmed to exhibit a variety of conditions and symptoms, which the students must identify and treat.

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences Professor Don Iverson welcomed the guests to the GSM Building, and explained the processes that had seen UOW develop its unique medical curriculum to train doctors primarily to work in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia.

The training is taking place at two purpose-designed buildings at UOW’s Wollongong and Shoalhaven campuses.

Professor Iverson explained that the function was an ideal way to show the Illawarra community what a marvellous asset the medical school would be to the region.

After the cocktail party, guests attended the TIC February dinner at UOW’s Great Hall, where they heard from guest speaker, media medico Dr John D’Arcy. Dr D’Arcy, who prepares medical reports for the Seven Network and a syndicated radio program, praises the university for its vision in seeking to address the chronic shortage of doctors practising outside capital cities.

Illawarra-based charity Celestial Beams has launched a campaign to raise funds to open up the Sim-Man training laboratories to the region’s emergency services professional and volunteer personnel.