WASHINGTON (Sept. 3, 2014) – The George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) is pleased to announce that it has received a generous grant from KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America for equipment to help train future health care leaders in the latest surgical and other treatment techniques. The new equipment will be used in GW’s state-of-the-art Clinical Learning and Simulation Skills (CLASS) Center, and in the Washington Institute of Surgical Endoscopy (WISE) and the Center for Otolaryngology Education and Training (COMET), both located at SMHS.
“We are thrilled that KARL STORZ has granted this important equipment to these training centers within SMHS. It is partnerships like this that enable us to train the best doctors and health professionals of tomorrow,” said Jeffrey S. Akman, M.D. ‘81, RESD ‘85, Walter A. Bloedorn Professor of Administrative Medicine, vice president for health affairs, and dean of SMHS. “By providing them with the most advanced equipment, we are enabling them to practice and perfect their surgical skills before they operate on their first patient. It’s such an important part of training.”
The granted KARL STORZ equipment will be used at part of the GW CLASS Center’s and the WISE’s integrated laparoscopic, bronchoscopic, and endoscopic training programs. The planned laparoscopic training program is a tiered system in which learners progress from simple to more advanced skills during the course of their educational program. Novice learners will use basic laparoscopy boxes for early skills training and graduate to a case-based haptic laparoscopic simulator for more realistic surgical training. The towers and laparoscopic equipment will be used to supplement skills training for all levels of learners using tissue models, and provide a realistic environment for more advanced surgical training. Most importantly, SMHS plans to pair its existing high fidelity patient simulators with laparoscopic models to create mock laparoscopic surgeries for teamwork training. This way, educators will be able to simulate cardiopulmonary dynamics of a patient while performing laparoscopy. KARL STORZ’s generous grant of equipment will enable interdisciplinary training of teamwork and communications skills during critical operating room junctures or intraoperative emergencies.
“It is through commitments like this, from KARL STORZ, that we are able to fulfill our mission of training highly skilled physicians. With this grant, we can ensure our students understand key clinical concepts, learn procedural skills in a safe environment, and are able to communicate in the high-stakes environment that performing surgery presents,” said Claudia Ranniger, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of the CLASS Center.
Additionally, SMHS has been named a “KARL STORZ Endoscopy — Center of Excellence.” This designation is given to organizations who demonstrate that new technologies are being used to train medical students, residents, physicians and other health care professionals from throughout the region on the most advanced minimally invasive surgical procedures.
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About GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences Founded in 1824, the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) was the first medical school in the nation’s capital and is the 11th oldest in the country. Working together in our nation’s capital, with integrity and resolve, the GW SMHS is committed to improving the health and well-being of our local, national and global communities.
About KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America, Inc. KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America, Inc., is an affiliate of KARL STORZ GmbH & Co. KG, an international leader for more than 65 years in reusable endoscope technology, encompassing all endoscopic specialties. Based in Tuttlingen, Germany, KARL STORZ GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned company that designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets all its products with an emphasis on visionary design, precision craftsmanship and clinical effectiveness. For more information, call (800) 421-0837 or visit the company’s website.
