DUTCH stands for Digital United Training Concepts for Healthcare. DUTCH is a national program that works on a new way of training and developing healthcare professionals in hospitals. DUTCH starts with the training courses for anesthesia staff, operating room assistants and radiodiagnostic laboratory technicians. In the future, DUTCH will also work on other healthcare training courses. The goal is to replace part of the workplace learning with simulated learning resources in order to be able to train more people in a safe way.

DUTCH is a collaboration between hospitals, educational institutions and businesses. This is also called a triple-helix collaboration . View our partners .

DUTCH ensures that there is more training capacity in hospitals. DUTCH replaces part of the learning in the real workplace with learning in a simulated workplace. So you learn in the workplace and with simulated learning resources such as e-learning, games, virtual or augmented reality and physical simulation.

DUTCH replaces part of the learning in the real workplace with learning in a simulated workplace. Professionals in training (PIO) will soon learn both in the workplace and with simulated learning resources. That is partly different training, but at least just as good. Learning with simulated learning resources requires less guidance capacity from people in the workplace. This creates more training and operating room capacity.

Healthcare professionals maintain their competence through further and refresher training. DUTCH not only develops simulated learning materials for professionals in training, but also for further and refresher training of certified healthcare professionals. Staying up-to-date and practicing rare situations will soon be easy with the DUTCH learning materials.

Also, certified healthcare professionals will soon work together with new colleagues who have been partially trained in a simulation workplace. This new form of workplace learning is at least as good as the classic form of workplace learning.

We create simulated learning materials with the aim of replacing part of the workplace learning. Of course, theory is also discussed during the workplace learning. During the development of learning activities, we inventory when and on which components the theory trainers contribute their knowledge. In this way, the theory becomes an integrated part of the learning materials.

We have incredibly good training courses in the Netherlands. DUTCH is initially changing the training courses for anesthesia staff, surgical assistants and radiodiagnostic laboratory technicians. We are not changing the content of the training (the what), but the way in which (the how). These employees will soon be trained at least as well as they are now, but partly in a simulated workplace. This will ensure that there will be more training places in hospitals and university medical centers. Waiting lists can be shortened in this way and the patient will therefore be able to have an operation sooner.

DUTCH is making an inventory of the learning resources that already exist. And whether they are suitable for national use. We are developing these resources further, if necessary. We are also developing new simulated learning resources. Technological companies from the educational and medical sector ( EdTech and MedTech ) are making these. This is done in collaboration with healthcare professionals and trainers. DUTCH learning resources are only made available after extensive testing. This is done via a national digital platform.

All hospitals participate in DUTCH. This also applies to the trade associations Dutch Hospital Association (NVZ) and the Dutch Federation of University Medical Centers (NFU). View all partners .

Hospitals assign the role of DUTCH contact person to someone. Because each hospital makes its own choices in this, we cannot generally indicate which functionary has or will receive that role. The managers and/or practical trainers involved in the training courses for anesthesia assistants, operating room assistants and radiodiagnostic laboratory technicians can certainly help you further.

DUTCH works with DUTCH quartermasters per region . These quartermasters are connected to the FZO regions. The DUTCH quartermasters are the first link between hospitals and DUTCH.

The input of healthcare professionals in the development of learning materials is of great importance. Your participation can therefore be very desirable. First ask in your own organization how you participate in DUTCH and what you can do. The managers and/or practical trainers of the anesthesia assistant, operating room assistant and radiodiagnostic laboratory technician courses can certainly help you further.

Developing and making available simulated learning resources; this is not possible without public and private parties in Educational Technology ( EdTech ) and Medical Technology ( MedTech ). That is why DUTCH works innovatively in a triple-helix collaboration between hospitals, educational institutions and businesses. Do you want to contribute as a developer to blended and modular training through simulation education? Or would you like to help realize a scalable uniform learning platform? Contact DUTCH.

Up until now, training has been done using the master-journeyman principle. Nationally, we have noticed that there is a limit to this. Hospitals indicate that no more training is possible because there is a lack of supervision capacity at the workplace or because, for example, the operating room is full. By using the master-journeyman principle in a simulated environment, more healthcare professionals can be trained under the supervision of a work supervisor. In a virtual simulation environment, for example, a work supervisor can give feedback to multiple candidates at the same time. In a physical simulation environment, on the other hand, training takes place in groups. The range of learning experiences in a virtual and physical simulation environment is also more effective. There is no need to wait until a learning situation presents itself in practice. In the virtual and physical simulation environment, all these learning situations are ready.