Tampa-based University of South Florida is launching the world’s first university-based undergraduate concentration in healthcare simulation operations.
The concentration, offered through the public health college in collaboration with the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, will be part of USF’s Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences program, according to an Aug. 6 university news release.
“There is a huge need for health care simulation workers, not just in higher education but also at hospitals, health care systems and the federal level, including the Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration,” Haru Okuda, MD, executive director of USF CAMLS and associate vice president of interprofessional education and practice with USF Health, said in the release. “As one of the largest simulation centers in the world, we recognized that we could be part of the solution by creating a program that develops graduates who can support and transform this field.”
USF’s program, which launches in the fall, will offer a blended curriculum of healthcare science, information technology, engineering and instructional design. It will include a 120-hour internship with rotations across multiple simulation centers.
Medical simulation is widely used in schools, hospitals and government agencies. Despite the technology’s growing use, there are no major research universities that offer undergraduate concentrations designed to prepare students for careers managing simulation technologies and programs, the release said.
