Your Guide to Clinical Simulation Professional Development with Avkin’s SIM Summits!

Avkin, the leader in wearable simulators for healthcare education, has created SIM Summits! Are you looking for innovative ways to provide professional development opportunities for your institution? Avkin SIM Summits are a career growth opportunity that allows simulationists and other healthcare education professionals to learn about the endless possibilities within multi-modality healthcare simulation. This HealthySimulation.com article will explore the SIM Summit and its educational opportunities.

Hosting a professional development event at your simulation center can feel like a daunting task. Avkin has created SIM Summits to partner with institutions to host healthcare simulation professional development days. With customizable agendas, Amy Cowperthwait, CEO, RN, MSN, CNS, CHSE-A, and Megan Weldon, CHSE, offer educational sessions regarding psychological safety, debriefing, and so much more.

SIM Summit

Sim Summit participants will learn how to incorporate hybrid simulation into their programs from industry experts. Avkin and the SIM Summits incorporate the best practices in education and simulation using the Simulation Standards of Best Practice developed by the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) and the Association of Standardized Patient Educators’ ASPE Standards of Best Practice.

Do you have a topic your team is interested in learning more about? The Avkin team will work with you to design a day that will benefit educators from a wide range of backgrounds in healthcare simulation. The professional development opportunities within SIM Summits are unmatched for anyone providing healthcare simulation education. Learning with Avkin does not have to stop after the event is over! If interested, Avkin provides immense resources in regards to Standardized Patients, simulation techniques, and so much more. Check out more of these topics on Avkin’s website.

The first SIM Summit was hosted by Sam Houston State University (SHSU) on The Woodlands Campus in The Woodlands, Texas. The Avkin team presented on a variety of topics over the course of three days for attendees to learn and engage in multiple sessions. Brittany Tower, MSN-Ed, RN, Shelly Bellis BSN, RN, CHSOS, and Devon Berry, PhD, MBA, helped to share input on the topics of Standardized Patients versus Manikins, as well as The Future of Simulation.

Brittany Tower, MSN-Ed, RN, is the Assistant Director of Simulation and Skills at SHSU and worked with Avkin throughout the entire process of getting this inaugural SIM Summit up and running. “The Sim Summit with Avkin provides a gateway to networking with like-minded individuals who share common goals in nursing education. Avkin has an incredible grasp on nursing education, the current student, and has a unique way of changing obstacles into opportunities.”

Denise Guadagnino, BS, RN, from Blinn College, attended SIM Summit at Sam Houston State University and shared her experience of the three-day event. “The content followed established standards that gave me confidence incorporating the learnings and applying them to improve our program.”

Institutions have found success when they have actively pursued grants and explored a variety of funding opportunities. To tap into potential resources for nursing professional development, reach out and establish connections with your local nursing and simulation groups. These organizations often possess valuable insights into state-specific grants tailored to nursing education and advancement. Moreover, a cooperative approach, including marketing promotion and strategic partnerships, will play a pivotal role in the success of the endeavor, ensuring it becomes an educational event from which everyone involved can glean valuable knowledge and experience.

Upcoming SIM Summits and Avkin Events

Avkin will be heading to Ashburn, Virginia, on September 22, 2023, to partner with George Washington University for the second SIM Summit of the year! Head over to the Avkin Events to learn more about where to find Avkin next and stay current on upcoming SIM Summits in your area! Next up is the New England Regional SIM Summit, scheduled for October 27, 2023, hosted at Fairfield University, in Fairfield, Connecticut. The Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce, Inc. (CCNW) will be sponsoring up to 50 members of the Healthcare Simulation Network of Connecticut (HSNCT) for this event.

View the HealthySimulation.com LEARN CE/CME Platform Webinar Getting Started with Hosting Professional Development at Your Clinical Simulation Center to learn more!

More About Avkin

Avkin manufactures wearable simulators for use in healthcare simulations and is a consultant for standardized patient programs. ​​Founded by a nurse educator, Avkin provides a simulation solution that combines the best of high-fidelity simulators and the realism of standardized patients for the most authentic healthcare simulation experience possible. The company knows that human interaction is irreplaceable in clinical education and has made it their mission to support practitioner education through realistic patient-centered care simulations that stretch learners to edges of their ability.

Today, Avkin’s sensor-enabled wearable technology uses haptic feedback to enable a new class of medical simulation training that teaches both the art (soft skills) and science (hard skills) required from practitioners like doctors, nurses, and first responders. What sets the company apart from competitors is that they add a realistic backstory focused on empathy so that users can bring medical simulations to life.

Avkin offers virtual Standardized Patients to help prepare undergraduate nursing students for the Next Gen NCLEX examination. This is just one of many services Avkin provides to meet the needs of healthcare simulation educators to prepare healthcare professionals to provide the highest quality care to achieve better patient outcomes.

Learn More About Avkin Sim Summits!