New Medical Education Technology Centre

Just a few minutes away from the main university building, a renovation project is underway at a spacious building in Riga. Originally designed in the 1980s to meet the needs of the paediatric general hospital, the building is currently undergoing a complete transformation to become the new Medical Education Technology Centre of Riga Stradiņš University, one of the most important intellectual and medical innovation institutions in the Baltic States.

The Technology Centre is part of the university’s long term strategic development plan, and offers local and international medical and healthcare students the opportunity to benefit from the centre’s advanced technology facilities throughout their degree programme. The centre’s computerised training and lecture rooms will be equipped with the latest simulation and technology systems. “The introduction of the latest technology will significantly improve the university’s degree programmes. We are planning to develop high quality programmes for international students enrolled in Medicine, Rehabilitation, Nursery and Public Health”, said Professor Janis Gardovskis, Vice-Chancellor of the university.

The Medical Education Technology Centre can also be seen as taking a step closer to providing a world-class medical and healthcare education, which is the objective used in the clinical exams (OSCE) to assess the knowledge and practical skills of future doctors. “In addition, the computerised lecture and simulation rooms place a special emphasis on the development of e-learning facilities in Latvian and in English at the university. It is for this reason that we are organising an impressive collection of images and videos of the most important medical procedures”, added Professor Guntis Bahs, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

What makes Riga Stradiņš University even more special is its Clinical Skills Centre, which provides students with invaluable practical training in areas of general importance to doctors and healthcare professionals. “In addition to providing clinical skills training, the Clinical Skills Centre will also enable students to develop their communication, IT, time management and research skills”, according to Roberts Rezgalis, Director of the Centre. The centre will have patient simulators, which offer students the chance to gain practical experience in settings similar to those found in real-life clinics, as well as simulators of operating theatres and intensive care units. “One of the rooms will be completely dedicated to complex procedures, such as ultrasounds and endoscopic operations, as well as allowing students to practice some of the profession’s most common procedures, such as injections and stitches”, said Rezgalis.