Developing the military GP using immersive simulation in specialty training

Military general practice requires wider knowledge and more diverse skillset than that defined by the Royal College of General Practitioners curriculum. Following completion of specialty training, military general practitioners (GPs) were returning from mostly civilian training environments feeling deskilled and ill-prepared for their military role. The Academic Department of Military General Practice defined the training gap and used co-creative curriculum development to incorporate military topics throughout the GP specialty training programme. Simulation was identified as a key teaching method employed throughout undergraduate and postgraduate health professional education, which could be used to improve the trainee’s learning. The resulting operational preparedness training week used layered teaching methods and feedback to build trainees’ knowledge and skills before a final major immersive simulation exercise. This article describes the educational design process in terms of the ‘10 goal conditions’ described by Issenberg for high-fidelity medical simulations leading to effective learning.

Numerical research on thermal performance of water-flow window as hospital curtain-wall

Water-flow window can reduce indoor cooling load from direct solar radiation and preheat domestic hot water at the same time. It is quite suitable for hospital with patient wards and large demand of hot water, especially buildings with large area of glazing curtain-wall. Field measurement was carried out during July 2018 at a major comprehensive hospital in Shenzhen, and the inner surface of the four-storey west-facing glazing curtain-wall reached over 45.6oC in the daytime. The year-round energy-saving potential is investigated by applying water-flow window to the curtain-wall through programme simulation, with a pre-validated FORTRAN programme. The results show that the year-round solar energy utilization rate can reach as high as 9.4%, and the indoor thermal environment is better, compared with conventional window design. The preheated water can be used in wards for showering and help building energy conservation. Water-flow window has great potential for large-scale application within similar buildings.