ICAMS and ASTEC

The Inova Center for Advanced Medical Simulation (ICAMS) is a 12,000 square foot state-of-the-art simulation center that serves the Inova Health System in advancing patient care through interprofessional education of healthcare workers. Since opening in 2015, the ICAMS has seen hundreds of nurses, physicians, residents, medical students and allied healthcare workers pass through its doors. They come to learn, prepare, advance, research and innovate healthcare practice in a center that looks like any of our hospital rooms; NICU, ICU, LDR, OR, ED, inpatient and outpatient rooms. The ICAMS encourages experimentation, repeated practice and potential error detection in a safe learning environment through technologically advanced instructional methods.

The partner perioperative center is Inova's Advanced Surgical Technology and Education Center (ASTEC), which provides surgeons, surgical residents and surgical teams unsurpassed real-time surgical training and education to improve skills, allow for observation and evaluation, and provide teambuilding opportunities to benefit patient care and safety. The 6,900-square-foot facility, which opened in June 2014, combines a classroom and a large centralized skills training area with a high-fidelity operating room environment, including pre-operative and post-anesthesia care unit bays, two functional endoscopic ORs and state-of-the-art observation and recording capabilities.

Simulation curriculum for OB-GYN residents

The Inova OB-GYN Residency Program has a robust simulation curriculum. Every month residents partake in programs aimed at specialized skills training, interprofessional teamwork drills, and enhancing patient/family communication. The residency simulation curricula have achieved accreditation and certification through the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, the American College of Surgeons, Fundamentals of Laparoscopy and the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Residents have also been actively involved in simulation educational research and have presented and published in national conferences and peer-reviewed journals. Below is a sample of some of our OB-GYN Residency simulation programs.

Sample of OB-GYN residency simulation programs

  • Operative Vaginal Delivery (Forceps and Vacuum Extraction)
  • Shoulder Dystocia
  • Postpartum Hemorrhage (Teamwork, Bakri Skills, B-Lynch)
  • Eclampsia/Hypertensive Emergencies
  • Repair of Third and Fourth Degree Lacerations
  • Safe Passages (Preventing Severe Perineal Lacerations)
  • Promoting Vaginal Births
  • Clinical Interpretation and Management of Fetal Monitoring
  • Deeply Impacted Fetal Head/Zavanelli
  • Cesarean Hysterectomy
  • External Cephalic Version
  • Vaginal Breech Delivery/Piper Forceps
  • Diabetic Ketoacidosis
  • Maternal Sepsis
  • Amniotic Fluid Embolus/OB ACLS
  • Neonatal Circumcision
  • Fundamentals of Laparoscopy
  • Hysteroscopy/Cystoscopy
  • Minimally Invasive Surgery
  • Robotic Surgery
  • Dilatation and Evacuation/MVA
  • IUD Insertion
  • Cadaver Labs
  • OB-GYN Sonography
  • Gynecologic Inpatient Emergencies
  • Obstetrical History and Antepartum Care
  • The Fourth Trimester Counseling
  • Delivery of Bad News (Early Pregnancy Loss, Intrauterine Fetal Demise)
  • Informed Consent/Disclosure of Error
  • Lactation Counseling
  • Peripartum Depression Screening and Management
  • Sexual Assault
  • Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecologic History and Examination
  • Neonatal Resuscitation Program
  • TeamSTEPPS OB-GYN
  • Vaginal hysterectomy
  • Tissue handling and dissection

Photo album

doctors in sim lab
doctors in cadaver lab
cadaver lab montage
doctors in surgical scrubs
closeup of simulation lab procedure