Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University

Project Statement

The 198,000-square-foot facility is designed to nurture a holistic interdisciplinary learning atmosphere, fostering collaboration between present students and future medical practitioners, mirroring authentic clinical settings. Notably, the building’s design paralleled curriculum development—an uncommon approach—permitting real-time adjustments to meet educational requirements.

The third and fourth floor of the Frist College of Medicine is home to the 65,000-sqaure-foot Center for Interprofessional Engagement and Simulation. The state-of-the-art facility offers a dynamic environment where students come together to learn, practice and refine their skills in a realistic setting. One of the largest of its kind in the nation, the Center features cutting edge equipment, technologies and resources to provide students with interdisciplinary experiential learning. It features a series of immersive technology, skills, assessment and apartment labs; fully simulated hospital rooms with debrief spaces; a preparation clinic suite; and inpatient and community pharmacies.

To address requirements comprehensively, extensive planning sessions were held throughout the design process. These sessions included workshops where faculty and staff from various disciplines met separately to outline their specific needs before converging to identify shared requirements. This collaborative approach facilitated alignment between the building's design and educational necessities. For example, recognizing the significance of interprofessional training, an Activities of Daily Living (ADL) lab, initially not thought to be needed, was added after thorough consideration. Detailed deliberations helped pinpoint the essential spaces, achieving a delicate balance between adequacy and efficiency in the design. Scheduling analysis, similar to that used in healthcare space planning, informed decisions regarding the necessary number of bed spaces and labs within the interprofessional simulation center. Additionally, benchmarking and other informational resources informed and enriched the design process.

The design process emphasized professional students’ needs, acknowledging that these students spend extensive hours in the building. As a result, our team created various types of spaces, including respite areas, activity zones, and different study environments to accommodate group and individual work. The facility offers diverse study spaces, such as open tables in a coffee shop style and dedicated rooms that can be scheduled in advance. For the medical school, specific requirements include a student lounge with gaming, a pool table, a TV relaxation zone, a kitchen area, and access to outdoor and natural spaces. Insights from medical school curriculum development were also integrated. The collaborative efforts and insights from industry trends aimed to enhance both the educational and user experience of the facility.

Framework for Design Excellence Narrative

Integration:

- Building acts as strong gateway between city and campus, creating a connection between each. Entry from the city is on level one and includes public focused functions like hospitality areas. Campus entry is on level two and includes café, student hang space and admissions.
- Ample glass to tie building to surrounding environment, include a major skylight in the core of the college of medicine areas.
- Performance-driven curriculum and design connectivity, with curriculum informing all academic and simulation areas.


Equitable Communities

- Projects greater reach includes active entries and throughways, encouraging walkability within a newly developed area of campus
- This project promotes human connection between nursing, medical and pharmacy students by integrating the simulation center as a holistic training sequence. Students run full simulations of healthcare procedures with all students on hand to run through each area of expertise as a group, each working toward a single simulation goal.
- Supports health in times of need by training the next generation of emergency responders and health professionals


Wellbeing

- This project encourages healthy lifestyles by encouraging use of open monumental stairs between key floors, promoting interaction and pause points.
- Mental wellbeing was especially important in the anatomy lab, as this is a students first experience with human specimens. The suite encourages respect and thoughtfulness around the importance of the person who made the choice to donate us of their body. There is a respite room where students hold a ceremony of thanks and celebration to honor this gift. The room also is used for students who may need to step away during their time in the suite.
- Occupant comfort was a major topic for medical students who spend long stressful hours here. A game room and lounge is central to their educational spaces. Adjacent private outdoor space allows them to spend time outside without leaving their upper floors. Study rooms and wellbeing rooms allow pause points throughout the day.