The Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare(ASPiH) was established in 2008. Over the last 15 years as a membership association, ASPiH has grown and evolved both in activities that support our members and in the relationship with other societies and commercial partners in the wider simulation community. The ASPiH considers that all individuals involved in the design, delivery, evaluation, and translation of simulated practice should adhere to the ASPiH 2023 core values of: Safety, Equity, diversity and inclusion. Sustainability, and Excellence. In the celebration of ASPIH’s 15th year, the ASPiH 2024 Conference was held November 3-5, 2024, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The theme this year is Transformative SImulation. A simulation paradigm shift that focuses on Innovation, Improvement, Interventions, Involvement, Identification, Inclusion and Influence. As a media partner, this article by HealthySimulation.com Content Manager and INACSL Past President Dr. Teresa Gore reviews the pre-conferences, opening day, and selected simulation sessions throughout the conference.
Transformative Simulation
These ground-breaking applications of simulation can be considered to be Transformative Simulation as simulation moves into a new era where the focus of simulation practices in transforming patient and staff safety and experience is becoming the norm and not the exception. The aim is to Innovate, Improve, Intervene, Involve, Identify, Include and Influence the delivery and experience of healthcare, and enhance the practice of teams in health and social care settings. The emerging horizon of Transformative Simulation require a dedicated platform for the sharing of successes, local expertise, and experts to amplify their voices, fostering an environment where knowledge is not only shared but actively built upon and collaboratively expanded. The application of simulation to explore systems thinking, identify and analyze problems, influence organizational behaviors, engage patients and stakeholders, and collectively develop new innovative care interventions has gained momentum and evidence.
View the HealthySimulation.com Webinar Transformative Healthcare Simulation: 7 Layers of Change to learn more!
ASPiH 2024 Conference
The conference had an amazing opening ceremony with a bagpipe band, the Scottish Secretary of Health, Neil Gray, and the ASPiH Leadership team to welcome everyone to the biggest ever ASPHie conference with a 25% increase in attendees with 1000 delegates, 270 presentations selected from 350+ abstracts submitted, 16 Special Interest Groups, five Keynote Speakers, and 46 exhibitors.
Keynote Presentations
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Professors Roger Kneebone and Sharon Weldon: The Transformation of Simulation Over Time set the tone for the conference. The presenters took us through the transformation of simulation over time. Clinical simulation started as a fixed, dedicated space that did not provide access to many and had a disconnect with emotional engagement. Dr. Kneebone incorporated wearable simulation devices in the 1990’s to promote emotional engagement. Since that time, the portable and flexible simulation areas and designs have increased. This allowed for more access for learners. The biggest change was to focus on the primary objectives and allow for less fidelity for the secondary objectives. A great example was given of a portable OR suite with the primary focus on abdominal surgery and organs. A life-size image of an anesthesia machine was used to represent what would be present in the room but not required to function. This would not work if the primary focus had been on anesthesia. With the incorporation of flexible, portable environments, the world of practice for engagement opened to others outside healthcare, includes non-medical. With the College of Arts, the participants brought in a different perspective of colors, images, and causes of communication issues in the OR. This allowed for a new lens to view potential solutions. Another advantage of transformative simulation is the use of sequential events. Instead of a clinical simulation that occurs in real-time, the use of the controlled environment can allow the sequential events to occur in rapid succession for learners. An example is a knife injury to initiate the process for pre-hospitalization, to the Emergency Department triage, to the OR suite, to post-op care in the medical surgical unit, to discharge planning, and finally, homecare. Not all participants would be required to participate in all of these events. The surgeon and surgical residents may be involved to assume care after the triage, perform the surgery in the OR suite, and then be discharged from the hospital. This could all occur in one day with three one-hour simulation sessions for the learners to connect the events in compressed time or a ‘time-warp.’ The phrase for this is to Select, Abstract, and Represent. This means to select the important component to focus on, then abstract from the sequela, and then represent as a clinical simulation. The end of the presentation focused on the use of imagination to reach new heights in simulation and the use AI to further the use of clinical simulation to all.
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Professor Steven Yule: Precision Beyond the Scalpel: Innovations in Team Performance Assessment from Surgery, Sports, and Spaceflight challenged the healthcare arena to incorporate practices commonly used in professional sports to improve healthcare delivery and practice. The incorporation of cameras in OR that use AI to track hand movements as a way to improve the surgeon’s skills can be used in the same manner as a professional league baseball pitcher. Minor tweaks in techniques could yield high results. Healthcare professionals should act like champions, never stop the search to learn and perfect their skills, and keep a growth mindset. Professor Yule discussed the importance of human factors and ways to improve healthcare delivery to improve patient outcomes and safety. He noted the use of the OSATS and NOTSS tools in the OR.
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Dr Claire Kilbride, MBChB, DTM, FRCEM: Simulation in Global Health Partnerships discussed the process of building simulation programs and teams in global health based on her work from Bristol to Africa. The key takeaways from this presentation is to honor and embrace the local culture. Do not come into a new space as the expert. One must find a local champion who knows the culture and what will and will not work in that environment. A shared mental model should be obtained to achieve the goals. Focus on what everyone has in common and work to achieve a shared outcome – equal access to healthcare. When clinical simulation is not a norm for clinical practitioners, then psychological safety is more important because healthcare practitioners are asked to share their errors, which is not a common clinical practice. The team’s motto is “Sim Together, Win Together.”
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Professor Doris Østergaard and Freddy Lippert: Breaking Barriers, Saving Lives: The Transformative Impact on Resuscitation Simulations presented the identified barriers at this point. Resuscitation can be divided into three teams. The first team recognizes and calls for help to prevent cardiac arrest. The second team is early CPR and defibrillation to buy time. The third resuscitation team focuses on post-resuscitation care to restore quality of life. They discussed the need to adjust our educational and training strategies to meet the patient and organization needs. However, special attention should be paid to the development of technology. Education cannot continue with the status quo, and simulation educators should use a wide variety of learning methods. Learning for life as transformative thinkers requires precision education and learning together with colleagues in teams, not groups, just to work together. Several questions were left for all attendees to consider: why do new tools work, for whom, and why? One size does not fit all. Remember, we do not know what the future holds, but we know that technology will have an increased role.
New for 2024: Innovation Space, Dragons Den, and Student Simulation
- The ASPiH’s Dragon’s Den (ADD) is a place designed for attendees to meet to discuss an idea or product concept they would like to develop and receive support through mentorship.
- Innovation Space was a central focal point in the exhibition hall for invited attendees and commercial vendors to showcase innovative approaches to clinical simulation in the Enhance session. The Share session invited attendees and commercial partners showed how national guidelines are integrated into the clinical simulation solutions. In the Improve session, members of the transformative simulation SIG to lead discussions about transformative simulation with individual and commercial collaboration.
- Student Simulation is a place where students can demonstrate a simulation they designed and developed for attendees.
Sponsors and Exhibitors
There were over 40 exhibitors at ASPiH 2024. The simulation community is very appreciative of the exhibitors and vendors to support the professional development of simulationists through their dedication to not-for-profit organizations. The sponsors for ASPiH 2024 are:
- 2024 Platinum Sponsors: Gaumard and Laerdal
- 2024 Gold Sponsors: Adam, Rouilly and Oxford Medical Simulation
- 2024 Silver Sponsors: Surgical Science and Elevate Healthcare (Formerly CAE)
