Education and Training

One of the central factors behind Cedars‑Sinai's continued presence at the leading edge of medicine is its commitment to teaching and learning: making important discoveries and disseminating that new knowledge through a variety of programs, centers, institutes, fellowships and more. Cedars‑Sinai is built on the premise that what makes for the best medicine (and leads to the best patient outcomes) is a culture that emphasizes helping medical professionals grow.

During the campaign, Cedars‑Sinai continued to expand vital training opportunities through philanthropic contributions.

Practice Makes Perfect

Opened in 2013, the 10,000-square-foot Women's Guild Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical Skills at Cedars‑Sinai is an immersive environment equipped with the latest in human patient simulators and medical devices. It replicates the reality of professionals working together, performing different roles and navigating the latest technology. Improving professional clinical skills, such as development, teamwork and communication, is at the heart of the simulation center's ethos. This proactive approach helps Cedars‑Sinai provide the best possible care to patients and provides staff with the latest in educational technology.

The simulation center, which is accredited by both the American College of Surgeons and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, features fully functioning operating rooms, an intensive care unit and a trauma treatment area populated by high-tech, lifelike mannequins that act as patients. In this realistic and rigorous training environment, more than 2,000 surgeons, physicians, nurses and allied healthcare professionals receive training every month to master advanced skills.

The simulation center made exciting progress during The Campaign for Cedars‑Sinai:

• Hosted new interns and residents for two full days as they practiced clinical and communications skills in the simulation center before working with real patients. This first at Cedars‑Sinai represented a radical change in how medicine—as well as the medical center—oriented new physicians. Interns and residents from surgery, anesthesia, orthopaedics, urology and other specialties participated in the training.
• Obtained a surgical "cut suit," allowing trauma teams to train in an even more realistic manner. Clinical instructors donned the suit while the trauma teams performed a variety of surgical procedures. Performing these skills on a real, outfitted human creates a level of reality that tests how well practitioners translate their skills in a clinical, and often chaotic, environment.
• Received the 2016 Innovation Award for Technology from the Los Angeles County Medical Association and the Patient Care Foundation of Los Angeles County.
• Developed 3D printed skulls made of plastic with a density well matched to that of a human skull. The development enabled Cedars‑Sinai neurosurgical residents a rare opportunity to practice craniotomy procedures without the risk of harmful errors, an innovation that may change the way all neurosurgical residents are trained.

A Legacy of Impact

Donor support throughout the campaign galvanized an enduring legacy of transformative research and clinical care through the establishment of fellowships and endowed chairs. This enables novice medical professionals to advance their training, hone critical skills and explore their potential in their respective fields, while also allowing endowed chair holders to discover and set new standards of care—ultimately ensuring that academic and professional excellence at Cedars‑Sinai continues in perpetuity.

Setting the Standard for Graduate Education

After receiving accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in July 2012, the Cedars‑Sinai Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences graduated its first class in 2013. Over the course of their study, these students explore the foundations of translational and clinical research—from interactions with medical practitioners to discovering their chosen career pathways and learning how to communicate scientific information accurately and effectively to both professional and lay audiences.

The graduate program at Cedars‑Sinai accepts six to eight students each year. Supported by a diverse faculty of scientists and physicians, students train in Cedars‑Sinai laboratories, where more than 900 research projects are underway in areas that include molecular genetics, immunology, molecular and cellular oncology, cardiovascular biology, neurosciences, regenerative medicine, metabolism and therapeutic trials. During The Campaign for Cedars‑Sinai, students were involved in investigating an array of illnesses, such as Alzheimer's, antibiotic-resistant infections, diabetes, cancer, and diseases of the heart, lung and bowel.

The WASC Senior College and University Commission also certified the academic integrity of the independent Cedars‑Sinai graduate program, based on an intense, five-year assessment. This recognition gives students access to federal student loans and qualifies Cedars‑Sinai to apply for educational funding and grants as an accredited degree-granting institution.

During the campaign, broad faculty involvement in the core curriculum, as well as in mentoring and supervision of students in laboratories, enabled students to engage in research studies in a wide range of scientific disciplines. The medical center worked to foster its academic culture by creating a graduate students' association, opening a graduate education center and providing the student support systems that are expected in graduate programs of the highest caliber.

Last year, Cedars‑Sinai expanded its graduate school to include a master's degree in health delivery science. The new program teaches students how to measure and deliver value-based healthcare and focuses on four core pillars: data analytics, health informatics, healthcare financing, and performance measurement and improvement.

Superior Training for Nurses

Cedars‑Sinai expanded training opportunities in the renowned Geri and Richard Brawerman Nursing Institute. In partnership with California State University, Los Angeles, the institute offered two 10-week electives focused on perioperative preparation (both didactic and clinical practice). The first cadre of students graduated in 2016, and last year, the institute trained 125 nursing residents. Today, in addition to their RN degrees, more than 73 percent of the 2,800 nurses at Cedars‑Sinai have earned bachelor's degrees and 13 percent hold advanced nursing degrees at the master's or doctorate level. In addition, 56 percent of eligible Cedars‑Sinai nurses have earned specialty certifications such as critical care, rehabilitation, external fetal monitoring and neonatal intensive care nursing.