Learning Facilities

The UVA School of Medicine’s modern, beautifully designed learning facilities in Charlottesville combine elements of the University’s distinguished history with the latest medical technologies and innovations to match our leading-edge curriculum. These buildings are equipped with ample spaces for instruction, studying, and hanging out. With locations in Charlottesville and Northern Virginia, the School offers students unique experiences working with faculty and patients in two distinct locations.

Claude Moore Medical Education Building

The Claude Moore Medical Education Building is the five-story, state-of-the-art home to the Medical School. The building integrates small-group learning and individual instruction with best-in-class educational spaces.

It contains the innovative Learning Studio and the Clinical Performance Education Center (CPEC). CPEC’s two floors contain the Medical Simulation Center and Clinical Skills Center. The Mulholland Student Lounge, an auditorium, Student Affairs Office and the Office of Admissions are also housed in the building.

Learning Studio

The Learning Studio is an interactive learning environment that uses the latest technology to engage students in active learning. This space incorporates the five modalities of adult learning. Five technologically sophisticated screens – each measuring 20 feet across – descend into the space and tie into each group table, so that students can share with a small group or the entire class. Most sessions are recorded and are easily retrievable by podcast and on the web.

The Medical Simulation Center (SIM Center)

The Medical Simulation Center (SIM Center) is one floor of the Clinical Performance Education Center. On the ground floor, it has four fully realized clinical spaces: an intensive care unit (ICU), an operating room (OR), a labor and delivery suite (L&D), and an emergency room (ER). All spaces are fully equipped so that students are in a fully replicated space in which they can work with patient simulators, which breathe, speak, and respond to procedures and medications. Behind a one-way mirror, operators can also manipulate simulators providing students with real time experiences. In addition, there are seven task training rooms for procedures such as endoscopy, endotracheal intubation, and ultrasound surgical central line placement.

Clinical Skills Center

The Clinical Skills Center is an educational resource designed to support the learning objectives of the UVA School of Medicine. Based in the Clinical Performance Education Center, the Clinical Skills Center recruits and trains standardized patients (SPs) to participate in simulated encounters as a part of teaching sessions and in assessments of learners’ clinical performance.

The Center contains 20 rooms designed to simulate a patient care setting and is fully equipped to enable observation and recording as needed to enable future learning and ensure high quality examinations.

Anatomy Facilities

Learning anatomy is an important component of our Phase 1 MD curriculum. In the anatomy lab, students perform cadaver dissection, view pro-sections, interact with anatomic models and utilize 3D computer software to achieve required learning objectives. Students also participate in Clinical Anatomy and Imaging Labs (CAIL) that provide them with opportunities to apply anatomical knowledge to clinical circumstances.

Claude Moore Health Sciences Library

The Claude Moore Health Sciences Library is a central gathering place for students, with a variety of study and learning facilities throughout the building.  There are small group study rooms, open areas with natural lighting and comfortable seating as well as a large, 24-hour study area. Students can bring their own computers and connect wirelessly to the network or use the network connections in the library. In addition, there is a large computer lab, scanning stations and printing services.

The library has an extensive collection of online resources, journals and books that are available in the library and remotely. The Medical Education Librarian works with students and faculty throughout the four years to enhance information seeking skills and critical thinking, and library staff meet with representatives of the Mulholland Society on a regular basis to ensure that the library is responsive to student needs.

At both our Inova and Charlottesville campuses, we deliver an interprofessional collaborative training and educational experience. Our centers are outfitted with state-of-the-art tele-video communication facilities to establish seamless and virtual meeting opportunities for whatever the need or purpose between the two campuses. Whether educational or administrative, students at Inova are in the room with their UVA faculty and colleagues without having to drive anywhere.

The Inova Claude Moore educational space for our medical students houses flex-seating classrooms with tele-video capabilities and a large individual study carrels area complete with desktop computers. Students can unwind in a dedicated student lounge with multiple amenities including a kitchenette.

Inova Claude Moore Education and Research Center

As part of our educational vision, Inova has established its own Claude Moore Education and Research Center, which features 12,000 square feet of modern space dedicated to the educational needs of our UVA students. The Inova Campus boasts an additional 12,000 square foot medical simulation center named ICAMS and a several thousand square foot surgical simulation and advanced practice training space called ASTEC. These spaces enable students to learn through hands-on experience and side by side with our faculty, residents, and nurses.

ICAMS

The Inova Center for Advanced Medical Simulation (ICAMS), located on the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, provides a safe and secure learning environment where simulations replicate real-world clinical scenarios. These scenarios incorporate the use of high-fidelity manikins, task trainers, and standardized patients to support simulation-based education and training with the goal of improving patient safety.

ICAMS spans 12,000 square feet and includes a mock hospital with inpatient rooms that are exact replicas of clinical care areas, as well as six fully-equipped outpatient examination rooms. ICAMS is accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) in the areas of Assessment, Systems Integration, Research, and Teaching/Education.