In a ward that's been meticulously replicated to mirror the real thing, a mannequin patient lies in bed.

Suddenly, an announcement echoes throughout the space: the patient has unexpectedly entered a state of cardiac arrest. Nursing students from Seoul Women's College of Nursing promptly check the patient's consciousness by tapping on the shoulder, but there's no response; the patient's pulse is also undetectable.

Identifying the situation as cardiac arrest, the students call for a professional resuscitation team and begin treatment.

One trainee quickly starts chest compressions, while others prepare for artificial respiration and set up a defibrillator. This scene unfolded last Friday at the SMART Simulation Center at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, which opened in January of the previous year.

Simulation education is not a new concept in the medical field. Efforts to realistically replicate clinical environments, ranging from mannequins and standardized patients to virtual reality (VR) and the metaverse, have evolved alongside the development and history of medical education.

However, doubts about the effectiveness of simulation education have persisted, with some arguing that it provides merely a glimpse into clinical situations and falls short of preparing students for real-life scenarios.

SNUBH's SMART Simulation Center appears to have thoroughly addressed these concerns. Located in the basement of the Healthcare Innovation Park, the center replicates an actual hospital environment, complete with operating rooms, patient rooms, intensive care units, conference rooms, and more, all equipped with high-performance simulators and the same medical equipment and systems used in clinical settings.

Notably, the center is the first in the country to develop and introduce an educational electronic medical record (EMR) system, allowing trainees to simulate the writing of patient records and review test results, just as they would in a real hospital setting.

This immersive experience enables students to make decisions and respond correctly in real-time situations as doctors and nurses.

The center's commitment to realistic training scenarios extends to its teaching methods. Instructors can give actual situations through microphones and monitor students' performance from every angle, ensuring a comprehensive learning experience.

"We record all training sessions, which allows us to review and improve our techniques," a staff at the center explained.

As a result, the center has quickly gained fame, not only among hospital staff but also externally, making it difficult to secure a reservation.

According to a center representative, approximately 400 individuals completed the professional resuscitation training course last year alone. Trainees have praised the center for its realistic settings and the use of advanced tools that provide immediate feedback on their performance, enhancing their learning experience.

"It was my first time to practice real-life situations with mannequins in a place that looks just like a real hospital, and it's definitely different from what I did at school," one of the Seoul Women's College of Nursing students told Korea Biomedical Review. "For example, because we were in a simulation center, the depth of chest compressions, the number of compressions, and the speed of the compressions were displayed on the forehead of the mannequin, so I could immediately tell if I was doing a good job or not, so I thought they were using more specialized tools than at school."

Also, being exposed to a variety of cases allows participants to think about how they need to respond in actual cases, she added.

The trainee said she would definitely recommend the simulation center to other nursing students because, as a student, it's hard to experience a situation as real as the one she just went through.

Not only the trainees, but also the professors who bring their students to the center are impressed.

"I've had hands-on experience at various centers, but the SNUBH simulation center is definitely one of the best," said a Seoul Women's College of Nursing professor. "The instructors here are very knowledgeable and explain things in a way that is easy for students to understand, and the variety of situations is very helpful."

The center has also attracted attention from the government, with President Yoon Suk Yeol and Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong also visiting in February.

During his visit, President Yoon emphasized the importance of expanding hands-on clinical experience and promised to enhance the quality of medical education to train excellent medical personnel.

In line with President Yoon's comments, the simulation center has recently been selected for the National University Hospital Clinical Training Center construction support project by the Ministry of Education, with plans for expansion by 2026 that will quadruple its size.

"The center currently offers basic skills training, but no animal training or pre-clinical surgery experience," the center employee said. "However, when we expand the center, it will be a more surgical-specific simulation center."

The expansion will allow for more specialized training, including surgical simulations with animals or cadavers, addressing the need for more complex skill development, he added.

While expanding the facility is exciting news, officials say they still need more human resources.

"We have about 50 instructors that work with the center and provide training to participants, but the number of people who actually work directly out of the center is three," the official said. "In order for us to run the center to is maximum potential we require more on-site staff."

Center attracts foreign talent as well

The center's fame is not limited to domestic acclaim.

According to a center official, despite not yet actively considering educational programs for outsiders, there are foreign doctors who apply and come to participate in the training programs in the surgical field.

"Many foreign medical scholars are already inquiring and visiting," the official said, adding, "When foreign medical scholars come, they join a clinical department and observe actual medical practices held at the hospital, and then come to practice on their own at the center."

The center also disclosed plans to introduce remote training programs in the future, eliminating the need for physical attendance.

On this day, Doctors Avegail Uy and Alma Corazon De La Cruz from the Philippines visited the center to participate in a microvascular anastomosis workshop.

Microvascular anastomosis is a highly skilled surgical technique used to repair vessels that are two mm or less in diameter with precision to prevent the formation of a thrombus that could lead to vessel occlusion.

Doctor Uy, who has been in Korea for eight months, said that she was recommended to the program by her professor and has been very satisfied so far.

"It's fortunate to be able to take a training course that perfectly matches my interest, especially at a time when the importance of microvascular anastomosis procedures is emerging in the Philippines," Uy said.

She emphasized that she definitely would recommend this program and the center to other interested colleagues back in her home country.