The Third International Conference of the School of Medicine titled "Arab simulation conference in medical education" (ASCME 2016) concluded at the University of Jordan (UJ) with a number of recommendations highlighting the need to establish a medical society devoted to Simulation based medical education.
The conference was held along with the 3rd International Conference of the School of Medicine and the 8th International Conference for the Scientific Society of the Arab Faculties of Medicine.
Among the attendees were over 400 medical experts, doctors, and academics from all over the world, in addition to a strong local participation from specialists and students from the Ministry of Health, Royal Medical Services, Jordanian universities, King Hussein Cancer Center, and the private sector.
The conference aimed to shed light on the topic of simulation in medical education, which has become an irreplaceable part of modern medical education and the curricula of clinical sciences in many advanced countries.
At the end of the conference, the participants unanimously agreed on the necessity of creating an all-inclusive Jordanian medical society that focuses on the use of simulation in medical education and involved all medical specialties.
Dr. Islam Massad, president of the conference, said the use of simulation in medical education has proven its effectiveness in limiting health complications resulting from medical errors, in addition to raising the level of confidence of doctors-in-training and who get to practice complicated procedures far from any actual risk to the patients or themselves. He also said that social communication skills are a possible training topic in which simulation could help.
Furthermore, Massad claimed that combining simulation with traditional medical education, from basic to clinical years, has become a necessary decision rather than an option, especially considering how it contributes to solving a multitude of problems relating to patients' health, financial costs, lack of human resources and the increasing number of students.
The conference attendees recommended that each medical department should identify necessary workshops for their students to complete their training in simulation centers before receiving their medical certification and as a prerequisite for the Jordanian Medical Board Exam, and to apply to the Jordanian Medical Board.