In Jan 2019, RUSM relocated its campus to Bridgetown, Barbados, following the disruptive impact to the school’s academic program from Hurricane Maria. Since the move, RUSMSI has maintained high-quality standards in infrastructure, equipment, human resources, curriculum development, and delivery tools. RUSM is transitioning to a single-track, single-module curriculum, scheduled for implementation in September 2023. RUSMSI has aligned its curriculum delivery with this initiative. The Ross University School of Medicine Simulation Institute (RUSMSI) has outlined the following short-term goals for 2023-2025:
The short-term goals are to:
- Achieve consistency in the student evaluation process to continuously improve program quality and responsiveness to students' needs. RUSMSI will conduct regular surveys at the end of each semester, allowing students to evaluate the course and provide feedback to the DCF Chair.
- Undertake regular case bank audits of existing Simulation cases and develop new cases when necessary to ensure they remain current with best practices and healthcare trends.
- Collaborating with the RUSM Office of External Affairs to identify and explore opportunities in Barbados for interprofessional student activities within the curriculum. This goal stems from the broader need for interprofessional education among healthcare team members to ensure patient-centered, high-quality medical care in line with the vision of US accreditation bodies, including SSH. Planned steps include:
- Ensuring that research and scholarship are pillars for the professional and personal development of DCF team members facilitating and/or delivering the Simulation curriculum and promoting best practice.
- Assigning a designated DCF Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) faculty member to research local healthcare training programs, such as nursing colleges or paramedic / Emergency Medical Services (EMS) training institutions interested in promoting and participating in interprofessional healthcare education.
- Upon identifying partner institutions, RUSMSI and the RUSM Curriculum Committee will collaborate with these institutions to develop an interprofessional education curriculum tailored to each program's learning objectives. Should any delays or obstacles arise, the Simulation Governing Committee will conduct a root cause analysis and determine the viability of the goal. Based on the committee's information and recommendations, the Department of Clinical Foundations Chair will decide whether to continue pursuing this goal.
Long-term goals for 2025-2028:
- Implement interprofessional education into the RUSM curriculum through simulation-based education within RUSMSI, building upon the project mentioned above if successfully established.
- Expand the simulation program by increasing the number of cases to create the context for and improve clinical reasoning across the basic science curriculum. The Simulation Director will collaborate with module directors and content experts from all disciplines, liaising with the DCF Chair and RUSM Curriculum Committee, which holds the final decision-making authority. To initiate a fellowship and a research program and seek accreditation from SSIH for Fellowship and Research.