The Simmy Ginsburg Robotic Simulation Suite, named in memory of the late wife of the late PCOM board member Harry Ginsburg, DO '42, offers students and medical interns some of the most advanced surgical training opportunities currently available—Trauma Man, a central venous catheter (CVC) insertion training simulator and a laparoscopic simulator.
Trauma Man allows students to practice minor surgical procedures including tracheotomies and chest tube insertion.
The CVC insertion training simulator lets students learn subclavian catheterization.
The laparoscopic simulator, which consists of a video monitor, a pair of hand controls and two foot pedals, provides a life-like view of the intraabdominal cavity and allows the user to feel the surgical process. Currently, the simulator is used to teach gallbladder surgery. Additional software will be installed that will simulate hernia repair, gastric bypass and gynecological and urological surgeries. PCOM is the first medical school in Philadelphia, and one of only a few in the country, to own such a device.