Announcing the Thompson Sim Center

We are pleased to announce that the School of Medicine has received a generous gift for our new Clinical Skills and Simulation Center that is scheduled to open later this year. The new facility will be supported in part thanks to a naming gift from Paul Thompson, A69, M73, AG04P, and Camilla Thompson, J70, AG04P, longtime supporters of both the School of Medicine and the School of Arts & Sciences. The Camilla Bessey Thompson and Paul D. Thompson, M.D., Clinical Skills and Simulation Center, located in the Biomedical Research and Public Health building, will bring together state-of-the-art tools and technology and the best thinking in medical education.

The couple’s gift was inspired by Paul Thompson’s upcoming 50th reunion at the medical school. A firm believer in the value of using simulation in medical education, he is pleased to provide resources that will help students prepare for a variety of clinical scenarios. “We are thrilled to contribute to the Clinical Skills and Simulation Center. Teaching is a great way to improve medical care and simulation is a great way to teach. We wanted to demonstrate our gratitude to Tufts for the excellent clinical training I received,” says Dr. Thompson.

Simulation training is an essential link between instruction and the clinical experience. At 15,000 square feet, the Thompson Sim Center will include a 50-person classroom, 16 simulated exam rooms, four simulation spaces equipped with advance computerized mannequins that display symptoms and distress in realistic ways, and three observation/monitoring rooms. These types of facilities and tools are invaluable to learners, ensuring they gain hands-on experience in a wide and diverse range of scenarios. Through the support of donors such as the Thompsons, the School of Medicine will continue to have the resources needed to prepare learners to become extraordinary physicians and health-care professionals and improving health outcomes for their future patients.