VCOM View Magazine Vol. 13 | No. 1

Alumni & Development Enhancing Medical Education and Community Health: VCOM-Carolinas Receives Grant for LAP Mentor Simulator By Lily Collins

V COM-Carolinas has received a generous grant of more than $400,000 from the South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare. Among other things, the grant allowed VCOM Carolinas to acquire a LAP Mentor Simulator, a sophisticated virtual reality system that replicates the experience of performing laparoscopic surgery, a minimally invasive

communities. By equipping them with advanced surgical skills through simulation-based training, they are empowered to serve as agents of positive change in the communities they will one day serve. The addition of the LAP Mentor also aligns with the College’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in medical education. VCOM aims to ensure racial diversity among simulated patients, providing students with a realistic training

surgical technique used in various medical procedures. Through realistic simulations, students can practice essential skills such as hand eye coordination, instrument manipulation and surgical technique in a safe and controlled environment, preparing them to deliver high-quality patient care with precision and expertise. As future physicians, VCOM students play a inequities and improving access to healthcare, particularly in rural and underserved

environment that reflects the diversity of the world they will encounter in their medical careers. “The LAP Mentor covers it all,” says Michael Parks, MPA, NREMT, VCOM-Carolinas director for high fidelity manikin based and virtual simulation. “From essential skills, like instrument handling and camera navigation, to more complex procedures, such as suturing, knot tying, cholecystectomy, appendectomy, hysterectomy and other procedures, our students can gradually progress and build upon their skills, ensuring a well-rounded and comprehensive understanding of laparoscopic surgery.”

vital role in addressing health