Last week I attended the 2012 International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare put together by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. SSH now boasts almost 3,500 members and continues to provide research and education to the healthcare simulation community. This years IMSH meeting was attended by over 3,100 simulation users from around the world who were primarily primary-care clinical educators looking to learn more about this emerging educational methodology.
This year IMSH also unveiled several simulation technician and technology specific courses, and also included a small additional military simulation expo into the main exhibit hall. HealthySim was able to interview several companies, both large and small, about their new products and services.
Special thanks to my good buddy Will Enfinger, Simulation Operator for ICF stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Will was cameraman for most of this awesome video content from IMSH 2012! Stay tuned to HealthySimulation.com over the next few weeks to watch video interviews with the vendors I was able to learn more about.
One of the best courses I was able to attend was I Am A Director of A Simulation Center… Now What? A Policy and Procedures Workshop for Sim Center Directors put on by Dawn Schocken PhDc, MPH. In the workshop, several groups of Simulation Center Directors worked in groups to formulate an outline for policy and procedure needs for their simulation programs. Topics included everything from utulizing insituational legal departments for support to what kind of security measures are necessary for functioning simulation lab crash carts. If you are an IMSH member, I would suggest emailing Dawn (who volunteered to become Chair of the IMSH Director’s SIG for 2012), for a copy of the work completed by the entire group at the workshop. Members of IMSH can find Dawn’s information when logging into the new IMSH website. Please ONLY do this if you are a member of IMSH!
Allen Giannakopoulos also presented a great course entitled Discovering Best Practices in Simulation Labs and the Pitfalls to Avoid: A Survey and Results. Allen had surveyed over 300 simulation centers to find answers to crucial questions such as what to do with a Simulation Center entering year 5 and other best practices for new and maturing Simulation Centers.
I met so many great simulation champions this year! Many folks were thrilled to learn more about the Gathering of Technicians Meeting, the world’s first meeting specifically designed by sim techs for sim techs for professional hands-on training and community development. I was happy to share that GOT SIM has a NEW website launching next week, and the meeting will now be called the “Gathering of Healthcare Simulation Technology Specialists”. Stay tuned for more great info coming next week!
I was asked to help with presenting at two of these new “technology-based” courses:
- Streamlining Daily Operations
- Challenges & State of the Art with Audio-Video Technology
I will also have recaps of these presentations available soon!
Overall, IMSH 2012 was a great meeting in wonderful weather. Definitely be sure to check out the USS Midway Tour, a WWII based aircraft carrier that was decommissioned in the early 90s. It’s a great tour and I learned just how hard the NAVY works!
