April 17, 2023By Teresa Gore

Women in Leadership Virtual Event Empowers Clinical Simulation Community

The 2023 Women in Leadership (WIL) Symposium is scheduled virtually for May 17 from 10 AM to 3:30 PM EDT, UTC-4 for healthcare simulationists. The WIL Symposium was created as a one-day event to bring together curious and aspiring, new, and experienced leaders in healthcare simulation. The challenges and opportunities for female healthcare simulation professionals include the development of leadership skills in all professional sectors and environments. The Association for Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE), the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL), and the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) are collaborating to create an interactive day of personal and professional development featuring renowned speakers, vigorous discussion, and relationship-building for each WIL symposium. The theme for Women in Leadership Symposium 2023 is “ExPOSE Impostor Phenomenon: Exploring Personal Objective Strategies Enthusiastically”. HealthySimulation.com is an official media partner with ASPE and INACSL and looks forward to recognizing Women in Leadership 2023.

The agenda for Healthcare Simulation Women in Leadership 2023 will feature two-panel discussions, small group work, and an assessment tool for the impostor phenomenon. The Planning team representatives from each organization will start the symposium with a discussion of the professional society’s resources available for members. An assessment tool will be used for participants to self-assess related to the impostor phenomenon. Following this discussion, a panel will discuss individual strategies used to help with impostor syndrome.

The panelists are Tamara Owens, Ph.D., MEd, CHSE, Amy Cowperthwaite, MSN, ACNS-BC, CHSE, Christine Park, MD, Crystal Murillo, Ph.D., RN, CHSE-A, ANEF, FAAN, and Mary Beth Mancini, RN, Ph.D., NE-BC, FAHA, ANEF, FSSH, FAAN. Following the panel discussion, participants will be placed into working groups to discuss strategies for implementing lessons learned into personal and professional practice. After completing the working groups, all participants will share personal strategies to address the impostor phenomenon. WiL 2023 will provide four Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) Credits through SSH.


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Women in Leadership Symposium History

The inaugural WIL Symposium was created by SSH and held in NYC in 2018. The keynote speaker was Jillann Farmer, MD, who is the medical director for the United Nations. The second annual meeting was held in 2019 in Dallas, and the keynote speaker was Kim Siniscalchi, RN, who is a retired Major General and former Assistant Surgeon General. ASPE, INACSL, and SSH entered into a collaborative agreement to co-host the WiL Symposium by rotating the main host between the organization. The covid pandemic impacted the in-person meetings, and ASPE, INACSL, and SSH made a decision to continue the symposium virtually during that time. Each of these symposia has been an interactive day of personal and professional development, vigorous discussion, relationship-building, and yes, leveraging the power of experiential learning with simulation. The conference is open to any and all with an interest in community and uplifting women in leadership.

2020 – Women in Leadership Symposium: Changed to virtual due to Covid. The virtual symposium focused on the 2020 ASPE conference theme of Purpose, Inclusion, and Empowerment by delivering expert panel sessions facilitated by leaders from each society. Topics addressed centered around the current global climate and ideas for how to adjust our leadership accordingly.

2021 – Women in Leadership Symposium focused on ASPIRE: Advocate, Succeed, Persevere, Inspire, Resilience, and Equity. To assist leaders in simulation persevere while leading through challenges, the goal is to assist the leaders to inspire through advocacy for those in need. Resilience and equity were elevated to the forefront. WiL ASPIRE Symposium 2021 focused on current issues in the workplace using the strengths of all parties involved with Dr. Jennifer Arnold and Dr. Jone Tiffany.


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2022 – Women in Leadership Symposium: Strategies on Authentic Relationships & Resilience (SOAR²) focusing on Safety, Advocacy, & Resiliency. The objectives were to examine civility, safety, and advocacy strategies to promote resiliency, identify key components of resilience, explore how resilience affects authentic relationships and civility, and practice experiential learning opportunities to promote civil and healthy work environments. Dr. Cynthia Clark, Ph.D., RN, ANEF, FAAN was the keynote speaker on civility. A panel was convened to share their experiences in dealing with incivility, bullying, and other workplace aggressions. The panelists were Kellie Bryant, DNP, WHNP, CHSE, FAAN; Desiree Diaz, Ph.D., RN-BC, CNE, CHSE-A, FAAN; and Cynthia Foronda, Ph.D., RN, CNE, CHSE, ANEF, FAAN. The interactive session allowed participants to develop a simulation to address civility and equity.

More About ASPE

As the international organization of simulation educators, the Association of Standardized Patient Educators is also dedicated to promoting best practices in the application of SP methodology for education, assessment, and research. The organization’s added purpose includes fostering the dissemination of research and scholarship in the field of SP methodology and working to advance the professional knowledge and skills of its members.



In transforming professional performance through the power of human interaction, ASPE members serve as great resources and are always ready to help others with SP training, curriculum and program development, and center creation. Encouraged to share their expertise and experience regarding anything related to SP methodology, members all around the world provide strength and insight to the association.

More About INACSL

The International Nursing Association for Clinical and Simulation Learning (INACSL) is an association dedicated to advancing the science of healthcare simulation. With over 1,800 members worldwide, the organization’s mission is to be the global leader in the art and science of healthcare simulation through excellence in nursing education, practice, and research. INACSL’s goal is also to advance the science of nursing simulation by providing professional development, networking resources, and leadership in defining healthcare simulation standards of best practice.

INACSL membership provides the education, resources, and tools that best address current challenges and help support learners, educators, and professional goals related to the learning of healthcare simulation’s latest developments. This is while ensuring that these individuals are enabled to provide the most comprehensive education and training for high-quality patient care.
More About the SSH Organization

With over 4,000 members SSiH, aka The Society for Simulation in Healthcare, is the world’s largest organization dedicated to medical simulation. The nonprofit’s mission is to advance the application and promote the art, science, and practice of healthcare simulation through global engagement. SSiH seeks to reduce errors in patient care and improve clinical performance through the use of simulation.

Learn More About ASPE and Women in Leadership


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