Students at the University of Arizona's College of Medicine-Phoenix get hands-on training with state-of-the-art, computer-controlled mannequins. These mannequins are programmed to behave like real people and give students the chance to learn within a stressful scenario. IVs can be started, drugs administered, and vitals checked all without actually needing to stick a needle in a real person. All this training happens in simulation rooms designed to look and feel like an actual emergency room, operating theater, or labor and delivery room. Instructors observe the learning chaos through slightly creepy one-way glass.
The college itself is housed in a sparkling new building, sheathed in copper plating and located in downtown Phoenix between ASU's Mercado complex and the TGen building.What's more, the program at the Phoenix campus is being built from the ground up as a collaborative and interdisciplinary learning environment between students in the medical, physician assistant, and physical therapist schools — the hope being that students who are trained to think of themselves as part of a healthcare team will be less likely to develop massive House-size egos. The school recently received its preliminary accreditation, which means prospective students can apply directly to the downtown Phoenix campus now. There are only about 300 students on campus today, but they'll be ramping up to more than 1,200 students over the next four years. They'll also be adding additional programs such as a master's in public health.