COM Outlook Winter 2020

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 17 hands-on application in a fun, highly immersive, and risk-free environment.” According to Oviawe, both campuses have labs equipped with 3-D VR, robotics-manikin, VR research and development, and 3-D printing research tech- nologies that provide “highly immersive teaching and learning experiences that enhance students’ engagement and interaction.” Both campuses also house a standardized patient lab. Not surprisingly, student response to these technologi- cal implementations has been overwhelmingly favorable. “To cultivate active learning in medical education is to use tools that immerse the learner in a world of self-discovery and interactive challenges. For example, anatomy can be taught more efficiently by applying the benefits afforded by a virtual cadaver. We have the capability to delve into any organ system and get a front-row seat to the physiological phenomenon that have been taught on paper until now,” said fourth-year student Karan Thakkar. “The programs we now use, such as 3-D Organon VR, simplify human anatomy and medical concepts and translate them to be understood by students at any level of training. We’re also working on stretching just how far this technology can go,” he added. “Our current research focuses on applying current virtual technologies to help students prepare for their clin- ical skills examinations by simulating patient encounters.” Third-year student Santroy Samuels concurred with Thakkar’s assessment, adding, “The ability to be completely immersed in a virtual program where you can see, touch, and interact with the patient blew me away,” he said. “The fact that there are clinical scenarios where I can triage and treat a patient while getting symptomatic feedback was amazing. I have yet to meet a student who wasn’t blown away by their first encounter with this technology.” Another technology that has been incorporated at both campuses is 3-D printing, which is an inexpensive way to replicate various objects, tools, and body organs. “3-D printing allows you to create a model or realistic tool that can be used by patients or for medical education training, which is its main benefit,” Oviawe said of this innovative tool. “For example, students hold- ing a 3-D printing of a human organ gain a better understanding of the concept being taught. The same goes for patients holding a 3-D printing of a particular organ in their hands for illustra- tion before a medical procedure or surgery,” added Oviawe, who stressed that 3-D printing research, which is evolving rapidly, is essential in today’s medical education paradigm. It’s definitely an exciting time to be a KPCOM student, with multifaceted learning modalities available from both a pedagogical and technological perspective. “Today’s students are highly involved in their learning to achieve personal discovery through the use of these cut- ting-edge technologies that will improve their engagement and retention—and make them better future physicians,” Oviawe said. “The college is at the fore- front of leveraging the use of innovative technology for full immersive learning to promote utmost realism and academic excellence,” she added. “Our continual efforts in the areas of medical technology innovation and research and development will serve as an incubator to greater exploration in the use and assessment of these technologies for state-of-the-art medical education and delivery.” o From left: KPCOM students Temiloluwa Kowobari, Hamzah Mughal, Vera Hapshy, and Emelia Farnsworth engage with the BodyViz virtual cadaver technology as John Roufaiel, M.D., M.S., assistant professor, explains the cardiac CT scan of a living patient in 3-D format.