Tampa General Hospital continues to be the best hospital in the Tampa Bay area, as today’s release of the 2023-24 rankings by U.S. News & World Report show.

Today’s U.S. News announcement also recognized 11 Tampa General specialties for their strong national reputation and performance, including six in the nation’s top 50 and three in the top 20. Many of the 11 specialties are led or co-led by USF Health faculty physicians.

“Tampa General’s strong showing in this year’s rankings is a testament to the compassionate care and clinical expertise of our primary teaching partner,” said Dr. Charles J. Lockwood, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

“I’m so proud of our physicians and the leadership they have provided in propelling so many specialties to be among the best in the nation. These rankings translate into saving patients’ lives across Tampa Bay and beyond.”

Dr. Lockwood is also the executive vice president and chief academic officer of Tampa General Hospital.

The six specialties ranked among the top 50 in the nation are:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology – ranked #9 in the U.S. and #1 in Florida
• Gastroenterology and GI Surgery – ranked #19 in the U.S. and #1 in Florida
• Diabetes & Endocrinology – ranked #18 in the U.S. and #2 in Florida
• Ear, Nose & Throat – ranked #39 in the U.S. and #2 in Florida
• Orthopedics – ranked #30 in the U.S. and #2 in Florida
• Urology – ranked #49 in the U.S. and #2 in Florida

In addition, five more specialties were recognized as “high performing” and among the top 10% in the nation:

• Cancer
• Cardiology & Heart Surgery
• Geriatrics
• Neurology & Neurosurgery
• Pulmonology & Lung Surgery

Graduate programs at USF Health had promising gains in this year’s rankings from U.S. News & World Report (U.S. News), with some programs breaking into the top 50 of their rankings.

In the U.S. News 2024 Best Graduate Schools list released on April 25, USF Health’s physician assistant, nursing and public health programs ranked among the best in the country.

The rankings released April 25 did not include medical schools or law schools; those rankings were released by U.S. News May 11.

Among the notable advancements this year are the two graduate programs from the USF Health College of Nursing, each of which had major gains, and the Physician Assistant Program in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, which made the ranking list for the first time in its young history after receiving its inaugural full accreditation needed to qualify.

“Our nursing school is clearly garnering attention on the national stage as both its master’s and doctoral programs are making incredible gains in the rankings, and proving to be the best in Florida,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “And the first-time ranking for our physician assistant program marks a significant milestone. While this USF Health program is still young, its inaugural ranking is among the top third of PA programs across the country. We anticipate further rankings gains as our program continues to develop.”

According to U.S. News, its methodology uses data from expert opinions and statistical indicators when measuring a program’s ranking, examining qualities students and faculty bring to the educational experience and graduates’ achievements linked to their degrees, such as job placement and research impact.

The posted results for USF Health this year include:

• #46 in Medical Schools for Primary Care: The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine improved significantly for U.S. medical schools for primary care, going from #56 last year to #46 this year, and breaking into the top 50 for the first time.
• #50 in Medical Schools for Research: The Morsani College of Medicine continues to rank well among U.S. medical schools for research, ranking at #50 this year.
• #65 in Health Doctoral Programs – Physician Assistant: The Morsani College of Medicine’s Physician Assistant program ranked for the first time, ranked at #65 this year, placing it in the top third of the more than 200 PA programs in the rankings.
• #31 in Nursing for Master’s: The USF Health College of Nursing jumped 11 spots, going from #42 last year to #31 this year, making it the top-ranked public nursing master’s program in Florida.
• #33 in Nursing for DNP: The College of Nursing also continues to improve in its DNP program ranking and skyrocketed into the top 50 for doctoral programs in the country with its 34-spot jump from #67 last year to #33 this year, making it the top-ranked public or private DNP program in Florida.
• #22 in Public Health: The USF Health College of Public Health remains the top-ranked public health program in Florida, with its rank at #22 this year.

U.S. News does not provide new rankings for all graduate programs each year, so the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy maintains its rank of #68, and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences maintains its rank of #49.

More on rankings for other USF graduate programs…

This year’s USF Health Research Day set new records as more participants than ever filled the USF Tampa campus Marshall Student Center on March 3 to showcase the best of their scientific work.

The 33^rd USF Health Research Day included 457 research poster presentations by students, postdocs, residents, faculty, and staff across all health disciplines. Research Day is the largest research-oriented event of its kind at USF and remains the largest celebration of health sciences research collaboration across all four USF Health colleges (medicine, nursing, public health and pharmacy) as well as with colleagues in other USF colleges, including social work and engineering.

From left, Dr. Charles Lockwood, Dr. Kim Orth, Rhea Law, and Dr. Steve Liggett.

Research Day kicked off with the Annual Roy H. Behnke, MD, Distinguished Lectureship featuring speaker Kim Orth, PhD, professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Orth’s presentation was titled “Black Spot, Black Death, Black Pearl: Tales of Bacterial Effectors” – click here for more about Dr. Orth and her work.

Dr. Kim Orth.

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Tampa General Hospital, the primary teaching hospital for USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, was the presenting sponsor for USF Health Research Day 2023.

Following Dr. Orth’s presentation was the judging of work. Judges reviewed the posters that lined the Marshall Center Ballroom, asking the students for more detail and clarifications about their research projects. Presentations ranged from pilot, preliminary, empirical and case studies to system reviews and reviews of literature or charts.

Following the 13^th Annual Joseph Krzanowski Invited Oral Presenters by select students representing medicine, nursing, public health, and pharmacy, Research Day culminated with an Awards Ceremony in the Oval Theatre announcing the winners in 29 competitive categories – including 18 monetary awards totaling $8,600.

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For the list of Research Day 2023 award winners, click here.

For the list of Research Day judges and sponsors, click here.

More photos

Photos by Freddie Coleman, video by Allison Long, USF Health Communications

The Taneja College of Pharmacy has enhanced its foundational, didactic, and experiential curriculum to accommodate the diversity of students entering pharmacy school, many with diverse backgrounds in study, work, and life experiences. The curriculum includes components that allow students to pursue their passions, become workforce-ready, and pursue nontraditional pharmacy career paths.

As the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy’s (TCOP) new 30,000-square-foot home in downtown Tampa continues to progress, plans include a Maker Space/Creativity Lounge, a space that will connect students, faculty, and staff with leaders and innovators to promote creativity as part of professional development.

“The key to this vision is the ITEHC Academy (Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship in Healthcare). What originally started as a student-developed organization has grown to become the foundation for initiatives focused on advancing our student’s creativity, innovative and disruptive mindsets. It is now the pinnacle of the pillars and strategic plan of the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy,” said Kevin M. Olson, MBA, PharmD, CPh, assistant professor at the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy and director of the ITEHC Academy.

To help elevate and advance pharmaceutical education further, the new space will include virtual and augmented reality, a multitaction video wall, CAD drawing software, 3D printing, and holographic technology.

The space will allow various student groups, such as ITEHC, to develop innovative ideas and prototypes for health-related devices.

“Envision a space where students, faculty, staff, and community partners can come together and collaborate, a space where they can discover new ways of creating value that will advance pharmacy practice, differentiate pharmacist career opportunities, and reshape the future of pharmacy and health care,” Dr. Olson said.

Story and video by Ryan Rossy, USF Health Communications and Marketing

Rendering of the Student Commons outside the Creativity Lounge.

Rendering of the Creativity Lounge.

The IPE Day Cup is presented to the winners of the IPE Day student competition.

The best in technology can be leveraged to change all aspects of health care including education, training, and practice to improve patient outcomes.

That was the takeaway at the 5th Annual Interprofessional Education Day 2022 Nov. 16 at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation.  This year’s theme “The Future of Healthcare: The Transformative Role of Emerging Technology in Interprofessional Practice” brought together expert health care providers and entrepreneurs to discuss the latest in technology advances and what on the horizon to help enhance training and education, and patient outcomes.

Participants tuned in virtually to hear health care experts highlight their experiences and opinions of how technology can be used across the health care industry.

Featured speakers and topics:

Daniel Kraft, founder of Digital Health and NextMed Health and chair of XPRIZE Pandemic and Health Alliance, presented “The Future of Healthcare” to the virtual audience.  His presentation highlighted how modern technology is being used to help create better patient outcomes and emphasized the importance of leveraging technology to improve health care globally.  Additionally, he introduced listeners to some up-and-coming technologies and applications that are being created that can offer accurate and faster results at a fraction of the cost to patients.

Roger Daglius Dias, MD, PhD, MBA, Harvard Medical School associate professor of emergency medicine and STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation director of Research and Innovation.  His presentation “The Use of Technology to Enhance Interprofessional Communication in Healthcare” provided examples of how technology, including artificial and augmented reality, is leveraged to allow interprofessional teams to more effectively and efficiently communicate to enhance training, education and patient outcomes.

Matthew Mullarkey, PhD, USF Muma College of Business director of the Doctorate of Business Administration Program and executive director of the TGH-USF People Development Institute, presented “Reimagining the Innovation Adoption Curve in Healthcare: A Case for the Binary Adoption Curve.”  His presentation challenged the idea that digital transformation must happen to allow for more and better patient outcomes.

The morning session ended with an interprofessional panel discussion about “Integrating Emerging Technology to Enable True Patient Centered Healthcare.”  Expert panelists offered opinions and personal examples of how technology has helped enhance the efficiency of their practice, their teams, and how they educate and treat patients. Kevin Sneed, PharmD, USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy dean, USF Health senior associate vice president, and IPE Day 2022 co-chair, served as moderator to an expert group of panelists.

• Peter Chang, MD, Tampa General Hospital vice president of Healthcare Design
• Richard Munassi, MD, MBA, Tampa Bay WAVE managing director
• Christopher Fowler, PhD, James A Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics health science specialist.

The afternoon session began with a presentation from Laura Marsden, digital health lead and strategic planner for Jabil.  Her presentation “Breaking Barriers to Healthcare Transformation: The Power of Interprofessional Practice” focused on her personal experiences of physicians struggling to identify a chronic illness in her child and how digital health platforms helped identify and monitor his progress.  She highlighted the importance of interventional opportunities as they pertain to positive long-term patient health and outcomes.

USF Health student competition:

Shelby Rountree, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program, led her team in developing their concept during the student competition.

In keeping with tradition of IPE Day, teams of USF Health students were given a scenario in which they had to find a technological solution for a simulated patient who suffered from multiple illnesses including hypertension, diabetes and glaucoma.  The solution had to be user friendly to the patient, provide short-term and long-term interdisciplinary care solutions.

The top four teams to survive the first round of judging presented their solution to the entire IPE Day cohort in the finals. They had an additional 10 minutes to prepare their final pitch before giving their final presentations.  The winner was determined in an American Idol text-to-vote style judging, and it was team 4, as they were labeled for the finals, that took home the IPE Day Cup.

Team 4 Participants: 

– Lauren Adams (faculty preceptor) – Physician Assistant Program

– Kayla Foran – School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitative Sciences

– Paula Hernandez – College of Public Health

– Victoria Huffman – College of Public Health

– Pauline Nagac –  School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitative Sciences

– Shelby Rountree – Physician Assistant Program

– Emily Small – Physician Assistant Program

– Tristan Stitt – Athletic Training Program

– Alex Thompson – Taneja College of Pharmacy 

USF Health leaders on IPE Day 2022:

“New technologies, from gene sequencing to A.I. and V.R., are helping health care advance so quickly that it’s hard to keep pace. But, we must keep pace to realize their potential to transform health care.  We are part of a health care revolution that offers tremendous promise.”

Charles Lockwood, MD, MHCM, USF Health executive vice president and Morsani College of Medicine dean

“Especially after COVID-19, we’ve seen such an acceleration in the use of technology in education, patient care and training. Yet, we don’t really have an opportunity to teach this and let our students really understand the principles around it, where it’s going, and some of the challenges.  This is why this was the topic for the day.”

Haru Okuda, MD, FACEP, FSSH, executive director of the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, and associate vice president for USF Health Interprofessional Education and Practice

“The real winners today are going to be the patients in our communities.  I think we are at the forefront of being able to bring that technology experience to our students.”

Kevin Sneed, PharmD, USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy dean and professor, USF Health senior associate vice president, IPE Day 2022 co-chair

More photos from IPE Day 2022:

The 5th Annual Interprofessional Education Day 2022 was held at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation Nov. 16.

The 5th Annual Interprofessional Education Day 2022 was held at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation Nov. 16.

The 5th Annual Interprofessional Education Day 2022 was held at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation Nov. 16.

The 5th Annual Interprofessional Education Day 2022 was held at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation Nov. 16.

The 5th Annual Interprofessional Education Day 2022 was held at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation Nov. 16.

Story and photos by Freddie Coleman, USF Health Communications and Marketing

With virtual and augmented reality becoming more prominent, the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) is expanding its research efforts to explore the use of virtual and augmented reality in medical simulation training. 

“Traditionally, health care simulation has been actors, task-trainers, and mannequins. Virtual reality allows us to be fully immersed in an alternate world and that world can be an operating room, an outpatient clinic, or an ambulance, and be changed quickly. You will really feel like you’re there, which is challenging to do in a simulation center.” said Yasuharu “Haru” Okuda, MD, FACEP, FSSH, executive director for USF Health CAMLS and associate vice president for USF Health Interprofessional Education and Practice.

As the research mission at CAMLS develops, the goal is to easily export its virtual medical simulation trainings to different parts of the world so other medical professionals can take advantage of the research expertise there.

“You can connect to VR training scenarios from anywhere. You will be able to bring it to your home, bring it to your classroom, and conduct a training within only a headset that is just as powerful as anything in person,” Dr. Okuda said.

Shannon Bailey, PhD, Sr. Human Factors Scientist for USF Health CAMLS and assistant professor for the Department of Medical Education at the Morsani College of Medicine.

To help expand its research efforts, CAMLS hired a PhD, tenure-track researcher, Shannon Bailey. She has over 10 years of experience designing and testing extended reality (XR) training simulations and educational games. In her research, she explores how augmented, virtual, and extended reality technology can be used to inspire effective student learning through adaptive training and natural user interfaces.

Before coming to CAMLS, Dr. Bailey worked for the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD). After gaining extensive experience in military simulation training, she transitioned to the field of medical simulation training as a researcher director for a technology company called Immertec, which develops medical simulation training to impact how medical professionals learn.

“This research is important because it is moving the field forward by systematically testing different ways to approach simulation training and finding ways to optimize the training for both the learner and the medical professionals, which could lead to better outcomes for patients,” said Dr. Shannon Bailey, assistant professor for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

“VR at CAMLS will not replace real-world mannequin-based training,” Dr. Okuda said, but offering a resource to those who lack access to high-fidelity simulation centers allows them to experience the same level of training and experience in a virtual environment. 

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Shannon Bailey as our first PhD tenure-track researcher at CAMLS. What she brings to CAMLS is the ability for us to really lean into this area of extended reality and then apply it into a health care academic setting,” said Dr. Okuda. 

Story and video by Ryan Rossy, USF Health Communications and Marketing

A group of physicians and hospital administrators from national and international hospitals came to CAMLS for a two-day Mass Casualty Incident Training Sept. 7-9.

The USF Health Center for Advanced Medical and Learning Simulation, in partnership with the Center for Emergency Medical Education, recently hosted a group of hospital workers, doctors, nurses, and administrators for a three-day mass casualty incident (MCI) training seminar.

Health care professionals say mass casualty incidents are the one thing you have to train for and hope never happen.  The purpose of the training at CAMLS was so hospital workers understand how important organization and communication are when dealing with MCI’s.

Training participants help a standardized patient to her feet after she simulates collapsing during a two-day mass casualty training event at CAMLS Sept. 7-9.

Clinical providers came from as far as New Zealand and Mozambique, from small community hospitals to large trauma centers, to participate in a variety of roles in several simulated scenarios including, natural disasters, mass shootings and bombings.  Each scenario started with normal hospital activities until they received the call about an incident.  Leaders of groups had to coordinate setting up triage areas, where doctors and nurses would be needed.  Additionally, standardized patients used make-up to mimic injuries associated with the incidents.  Doctors and nurses had to treat the various injuries of all of the patients while sending information to hospital leadership.

A physician participating in the Mass Casualty Training at CAMLS Sept. 7-9 treats a simulated gunshot wound on a mannequin.

Haru Okuda, MD, FACEP, FSSH, CAMLS executive director and USF Health Office of Interprofessional Education and Practice assistant vice president, said that more and frequent training is needed across the board.

“What an incredible three days of mutual learning between our front-line participants and expert faculty as we ran through a multitude of simulation scenarios,” Dr. Okuda said. “We heard from many participants how important and relevant the training was, and how it will help them better respond during the unfortunate, and often chaotic, circumstances of a mass casualty incident. We look forward to continuing the partnership with CEME to deliver much-needed MCI training to a other teams, both in the United States and globally.”

More photos from the event: 

The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Academy of Distinguished Educators class of 2022 (Left to right): Eduardo Gonzalez, MD, FAAFP; Andreas Seyfang, PhD; John Armstrong, MD, FACS; Marzenna Wiranowska, PhD, MS; Susan Pross, PhD.

The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine (MCOM) recently celebrated the newest members of the Academy of Distinguished Educators during a small induction ceremony Sept. 20.

Class of 2022 Inductees:

• John Armstrong, MD
• Eduardo Gonzalez, MD, FAAFP
• Susan Pross, PhD
• Andreas Seyfang, PhD
• Marzenna Wiranowska, PhD, MS

“To us falls the high privilege and great responsibility of training the generation of doctors.  If we fail to do our job to perfection, people die needlessly.  Too often this simple truth is forgotten, but each of you never forget.” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, USF Health executive vice president and MCOM dean. All of you are a testament to why MCOM continues to thrive and why our reputation across the nation continues to rise.”

The program was developed as a collaborative effort by MCOM’s Department of Medical Education, Faculty Council, and Office of Faculty Affairs to enhance the practice, quality and scholarship of teaching and learning at the medical school through educational service, consultation and research.   The program honors exemplary educators of all medical students, physicians, physician assistants, physical therapists, athletic trainers and scientists within the faculty by awarding the prestigious title of Distinguished Educator.

Nominees must hold an active appointment at MCOM for at least two years and hold the minimum title of associate professor.  Nominees must have made exceptional contributions to the education mission in one or more of the following ways:

• Research in education.
• Innovations and scholarly approaches in curriculum development, instructional design, or assessment of student learning.
• Mentoring and development of faculty as educators or educational researchers.
• Individual learner mentoring and development.
• Leadership in education.

About the Inductees:

John Armstrong, MD, FACS.

John Armstrong, MD, FACS  is a nationally recognized surgeon and USF Health professor who has held multiple positions within USF Health and the Florida government.  He served as chief medical officer of the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS), surgical director of the USF Health American Colleges of Surgeons Accredited Education Institute and professor in the MCOM Department of Surgery.  He also served as Surgeon General and Secretary of Health under former Governor Rick Scott from 2012 to 2016.

Eduardo Gonzalez, MD, FAAFP.

Eduardo Gonzalez MD, FAAFP, joined USF Health in 1994.  He  serves as a professor and director in the MCOM Department of Family Medicine, professor in the Taneja College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Practice.  He is co-medical director of the USF Health BRIDGE Clinic, a free student-run clinic that serves uninsured adults from underserved communities.  In 2019, Dr. Gonzalez was named Physician of the Year by the American Academy of Family Physicians.  He is also a two-time USF alum having completed his undergraduate degree in 1987, and medical school in 1991.

Susan Pross, PhD.

Susan Pross, PhD has been part of the Morsani College of Medicine since 1975.  She is a professor in the MCOM Department of Molecular Medicine and director of the MCOM Office of Research Innovation and Scholar Endeavors Scholarly Concentrations Program, where she helps to develop and assess elective opportunities for student scholarship.   She is a trained immunologist and microbiologist  with research interests in allergy, immunology, and infectious disease.

Andreas Seyfang, PhD.

Andreas Seyfang, PhD is an expert in medical microbiology and parasitology.  He holds several professor positions throughout the USF Health colleges to include the Morsani College of Medicine, College of Public Health and School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences.  He’s earned multiple outstanding instructor and teaching awards that are voted on by students.  He is the director of the Seyfang laboratory that focuses on membrane permeases as target for drug delivery, and cytochrome b5 reductase as enzymatic drug target in opportunistic microbial pathogens including protozoan parasites and nosocomial and neuro-pathogenic fungi.

Marzenna Wiranowska, PhD, MS.

Marzenna Wiranowska, PhD, MS is an international expert in microbiology and immunology.  She joined the USF Health staff in 1982 where she started as a research associate in the Immunopharmacology Program at MCOM and currently serves as an associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology.  She leads the Medical Humanities elective of the Scholarly Concentrations Program.  Dr. Wiranowska has earned many awards as an educator of medical students including the Most Outstanding Pre-Clinical Professor Award voted on by the MCOM class of 2019.

Story by Freddie Coleman.  Photos by Ryan Rossy

The Florida Blue Health Knowledge Exchange, located in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute features an interactive MultiTaction wall.

When the new USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute opened in 2020 as a medical school of the future, it was equally important to include a library meant for the future, as well.

Thus, The Florida Blue Health Knowledge Exchange (FBHKE) was born.

Located on the second-floor mezzanine, the Knowledge Exchange is nearly completely digital –with no shelves lined with books – that expands the research and education support of the Shimberg Library, located at the USF Health campus in north Tampa.

Some of the features of the Knowledge Exchange are a large-scale video visualization wall for multimedia presentations, an executive reading room, computers available to the public, an IT help desk, and space for technology demonstrations and recording lectures.

Distance learning students, and staff across multiple USF Health campuses can take advantage of the digital database as well.  The state-of-the art, world-class library features more than 4,500 online research journals and 4,500 electronic books, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the oldest and one of the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals.

Library specialists like Courtney Bates-Walker are there to help students, staff and physicians navigate the futuristic library.

The 5,000-square-foot space is also available to Taneja College of Pharmacy students, Heart Institute researchers, USF Health and Tampa General Hospital physicians and patients, and the downtown and greater Tampa community.  Dedicated research librarians play several roles within the library and college, and often go into lecture halls, collegia spaces, and other study areas to meet with students.

“This is truly a place made to support discovery, engagement and collaboration,” said Rose Bland, assistant vice president of the USF Health Libraries and assistant dean at MCOM. “Resources are available 24/7, so we are available whenever our students and faculty are.  Libraries are changing for what students need today so, while there are some quiet spaces, the Knowledge Exchange is meant to be a place where people meet and collaborate.”

“Keeping pace with the rapidly evolving world of health data and technology is critical in today’s healthcare environment,” said Pat Geraghty, Florida Blue chief executive officer, in 2017 after giving a $1 million gift to support the Knowledge Exchange. “The Florida Blue Health Knowledge Exchange is aptly named as it will serve that goal by facilitating more information sharing and collaboration among students, health professionals and entrepreneurs.  USF and the Tampa Bay community are well positioned to be a center of health knowledge and learning.  We are very proud to be a part of this public facility, which aligns so closely with our own mission of helping people and communities achieve better health.”

The USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS) first opened 10 years ago in March 2012, where leaders from the community, education, industry, and simulation partners from around the world met for the grand opening in downtown Tampa.

Under one roof, the 90,000 square-foot, three-story facility houses the latest simulation technology and experiences to train the full spectrum of health care professionals as one of the nation’s top medical simulation facilities.

Part of the mosaic of USF Health’s expanded presence in downtown Tampa, CAMLS, is within walking distance of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in the Water Street Tampa urban development district.

CAMLS Grand Opening

“The goal was to build almost a Disney World for clinical providers who could travel from around the world to CAMLS to train with the best technology using simulation, incredible bio skills, fully realistic labs so that they can improve their procedural and clinical skills and then go back to their work and give the best practices both from USF Health experts but also utilizing the latest and greatest technology,” said Dr. Yasuharu “Haru” Okuda, MD, FACEP, FSSH, executive director for USF Health CAMLS and associate vice president for USF Health Interprofessional Education and Practice.

Until recently, CAMLS focused solely on training biomedical businesses and health care professionals. However, that initiative has expanded over the years to offer hands-on simulation training to USF Health students and faculty dedicated to advancing their clinical skills and improving patient safety and quality of care in Tampa Bay, Florida, the U.S., and the world.

“In the beginning, this advanced medical learning simulation was really focused around businesses and training and teaching health care professionals. But over the years, we’ve really evolved into a place where we conduct research in even more advanced training and education, like in virtual reality and augmented reality. We also now impact our future health care professionals by training students from our College of Medicine and College of Nursing both separately and as part of interprofessional teams,” Dr. Okuda said.

Dr. Charles Lockwood and USF President Rhea Law.

USF President Rhea H. Law and Charles Lockwood, MD, MHCM, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine (MCOM), have been active participants and contributed greatly to the success of CAMLS. President Law has been on the board of directors over the years and has continued to support the organization. Meanwhile, Dr. Lockwood has helped support the efforts of CAMLS around education, research, and innovation.

EMS instructors participated in a training class hosted by the USF Health CAMLS at the Pinellas County EMS Training Center.

Recently, CAMLS has been working on a new community outreach program called “CAMLS Without Walls.” The program was developed so the facility could go out into the community and deliver training through simulation-based education.

“The future of CAMLS is really bright,” Dr. Okuda said. “We have some incredible partnerships with startup companies in Tampa, where we’re building on our business relationships to innovate in areas such as virtual reality and augmented reality. We are also building our research teams to identify new technologies for training and education, and we’re publishing articles on that research. Now we are building a mobile training program called “CAMLS Without Walls,” so we are not bound by training only within CAMLS but can now go out into our community and deliver the training in hospitals in our rural environments and bring USF Health Expertise to places that need it the most.”

Story and video by Ryan Rossy, USF Health Communications and Marketing