Surgery resident Ario Barzin practices skills in the hospital’s $4 million Goodman Simulation Center, which opened last May. Similar in concept to simulator programs used to train airline pilots, the center helps physicians learn and fine tune core surgical skills, such as suturing, knot tying, guiding laparoscopic instruments and inserting central lines. Thomas M. Krummel, chair of the Department of Surgery, says the center “is a natural evolution of how we train medical professionals.” Traditionally, “education happens by random opportunity. With the simulation center, Stanford can build a curriculum and an experience without being dependent on which patients come through the doors of the hospital.”