The Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Algarve opened its Clinical Simulation Centre to the public this month.
As part of the Algarve 2030 Regional Program’s Dias Abertas (Open Days) initiative, citizens will be invited to learn about projects financed by the European Union in their local communities and emphasise the value of European funds for regional development. During guided tours in the months of June, July, September, and October, residents will be able to learn about projects related to social solidarity, health, innovation, and science, including business ventures, culture, and cultural heritage.
This initiative’s first open day was held on Tuesday, 18 June, at the Clinical Simulation Centre, which gives health professionals access to pre and post-graduate education, training, and opportunities for professional growth throughout their lives.
Having received funding from the CRESC Algarve 2020 Operational Programme, this project—which is regarded as one of the pioneers in the use of clinical simulation in training—was able to outfit itself with top-notch resources and is now regarded as one of the best in Europe. Since the centre’s official opening on March 1 of last year, over 1,500 trainees—including physicians and nurses—have gone through it.
According to Inês Araújo, the head of the University of Algarve’s Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, “This investment with European funds makes us a highly qualified and differentiated structure in the region, which puts us on the simulation map not only in Portugal but in Europe too and which allows us to provide a training structure that we previously did not have the capacity to offer.”
The European Trauma and Surgery Course, organised by the HPA with scientific sponsorship from the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery (ESTES) and the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, stands out among the dozens of events that have already taken place. Other notable events include the Difficult Airway Course for anaesthetists, which was organised by the Portuguese Society of Anesthesiology with scientific sponsorship from the European Airway Management Society, the SPSIM 2024 Congress, a national meeting devoted to Simulation Applied to Health Sciences in Portugal, and ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support for Doctors), which is overseen by the Portuguese Society of Surgery (SPC).
José Apolinário, the president of the Algarve 2030 Regional Programme Steering Committee, noted in his remarks that “applied research in the field of health was one of the main priorities of the Algarve 2020 Program and will continue to be so in the Algarve 2030.”
By the end of 2022, R&D spending in the Algarve accounted for 54 million euros or 0.47% of the region’s GDP.
The President of the Steering Committee of the Management Authority of the Algarve 2030 Regional Programme adds, “The European Funds managed in the region will contribute to the objective of exceeding 0.80% investment in R&D compared to the GDP generated in the Algarve at the end of 2030.”
