GMU Inaugurates Thumbay Institute of Clinical Simulation

Gulf Medical University on Wednesday opened the Thumbay Institute of Clinical Simulation at its Ajman campus, a next-generation training hub designed to let students, residents, and practising clinicians learn, rehearse, and master real-world care in a safe, high-fidelity environment. The inauguration took place at 10:00 am at Gulf Medical University in the presence of academic leaders, faculty, and healthcare partners.

Great clinicians aren’t built in lecture halls alone. They’re shaped by repeated, guided practice on lifelike scenarios until the right response becomes second nature. The new institute delivers exactly that — team-based drills, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs), crisis resource management, and procedure training across medicine and allied health — using advanced manikins, task trainers, simulated wards, and digital recording for debrief.

With the opening, GMU and the Thumbay academic health system are assembling the UAE’s largest integrated network of healthcare simulation centres. This network includes:

• Thumbay Clinical Simulation Centre

• Dental Simulation Centre

• Physiotherapy Simulation Centre

• Thumbay Surgical Skills Center

• Upcoming Thumbay Veterinary Simulation Centre (small and large animals)

• Upcoming Thumbay Simulation Centre in Dubai

Together, these facilities will standardize skills training across disciplines and raise the bar for patient safety across the region.

Prof. Manda Venkatramana, Chancellor of Gulf Medical University, said: “Simulation changes outcomes. It lets our learners make mistakes without harm, learn as teams, and return to the bedside more confident and more prepared. With this institute and our growing network across medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, surgery, and soon veterinary medicine, GMU is setting a national standard for hands-on health-professions education.”

What this really means is more competent graduates, faster onboarding for interns and residents, stronger interdisciplinary teamwork, and safer care for patients. The institute will serve GMU’s undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, support continuous professional development for clinicians across the Thumbay healthcare network, and host certification courses with international partners.

The facility features simulation suites replicating ICU, emergency, operating theatre, primary care, inpatient wards, and home-care settings. Every session is recorded for structured debrief so learners can see, measure, and improve performance. The curriculum spans communication, ethics, cultural competence, and leadership under pressure, not just procedures and protocols.

Memberships, Accreditations & Affiliations:

• American Heart Association (AHA) International Training Centre

• National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT)

• Society in Europe for Simulation Applied to Medicine (SESAM)

• Membership of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom MRCP (UK)

• (Jaheziya) Emirates Medical Preparedness and Response Programme

• Health and Safety Institute (HSI)

Gulf Medical University has long championed practice-ready education across its colleges and clinical partners. Wednesday's launch strengthens that promise and creates a unified simulation pathway from classroom to clinic to community care — covering human and, soon, animal health — while opening the door to joint research on human factors, AI-assisted training, and patient-safety outcomes.