Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, BETHESDA, MD  –   Step inside the Simulation Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and you might think you’ve entered a real operating room. State-of-the-art medical monitors, instruments, and equipment fill the space. The only thing missing is a live patient — though the life-like mannequin lying on the operating table comes close.

This high-tech mannequin breathes, has a heartbeat, palpable pulses, and can mimic a wide range of medical conditions and emergencies. Health care providers are able to sharpen their skills in a safe, controlled environment while using Walter Reed’s state-of-the-art center.

“The main goal of the center is to improve safety in patient care,” said Mark Wyn, Simulation Programs manager in Walter Reed’s Department of Simulation and Simulation Liaison Lead for the National Capital Region.

In the center, current and future medical professionals refine advanced techniques essential to achieving Walter Reed’s gold standard for patient safety and medical education. Training scenarios include seizures, heart failure, complicated childbirth, and other emergencies and high-risk procedures.

“The Simulation Department has an ongoing legacy with a myriad of training programs ranging from Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) milestones to preparing residents for their boards,” Wyn said. “We also sustain medical readiness through Individual Combat Training Lists (ICTLs) and offer Just In Time Training (JITT) for real-world missions. All these components contribute to a well-prepared, ready medical force and directly benefit the delivery of world-class care to our Military Health System beneficiaries.”

More Than One Training Space

In addition to the main Simulation Center, Walter Reed’s Simulation Department operates several specialized spaces throughout the campus.

“Just below the main center on the third floor of Building 3 is the surgical simulation suite,” Wyn said. “It includes a suture lab, virtual reality fundamentals of endoscopic surgery, and laparoscopic surgery trainers. This lab is accessible 24/7 to residents, faculty, and attendings after orientation.”

The second floor of Building 10 — home to Walter Reed’s inpatient facility — houses the Sim South Center. That location offers virtual reality-based cardiology training and a digital cadaver table that allows anatomy-based learning, pre-surgical planning, and exploration of functional anatomy and physiology.

In Building 5, a newly installed immersive projector training space surrounds learners with projected images and interactive walls. “We can place learners in any environment — an intersection on base, a shipboard medical bay, or a field hospital,” Wyn said. “Mannequins can be placed in these environments to heighten realism and enhance the training experience.”

Accredited and Widely Used

The Simulation Department is accredited in multiple areas and serves Walter Reed staff, Uniformed Services University students, and other health care personnel in the National Capital Region.

In 2024, more than 6,050 participants logged a combined 28,131 hours of training at the department. “This year, our expectation is to exceed these numbers,” Wyn said.

Wyn emphasized the department’s value in making training accessible. “The greatest advantage of having a simulation department, especially one with all of these options, is the ability to have training available where the learners are,” he said. Locating labs near clinical spaces, such as Sim South, makes it easier for supervisors and faculty to conduct skills assessments and ensure top-quality patient care.

Additionally, a hospital-based simulation center supports quality improvement research and helps identify ways to improve clinical performance.

For more information about the Simulation Department, contact Wyn at 301-400-3839.