Jewel Abraham
JOIN/RENEW SSH

 


How did you get into healthcare simulation?

It was my passion to technology. I am originally from India where we never had the luxury and resources for simulation at that time. After coming to the US in Jewel Abraham2010, I learned about simulation. Simulation gave me an opportunity to combine my passion in nursing, technology, and teaching. As I learn about simulation each day, it opens my eyes to view education more as an experiential learning. I joined Valparaiso University as a limited part time adjunct faculty, but was later offered the position of assistant director of the Virtual Nursing Learning Center. I had a really good mentor and supportive dean who always reinforced me to grow and develop. I started working in low resources settings (Asian settings) to mentor their simulation efforts by correlating my background and western experience in simulation. I was able to translate nursing simulation as an achievable strategy for my collaborating low resource partners, which can benefit them to initiate and implement numerous simulation efforts. I trained over 500 healthcare professionals in India on healthcare simulation. Currently, I work with Indian and Pakistani nursing colleges to support their simulation efforts. We started hosting free webinars for low resource settings, including free simulation tips and other training videos.

The SSH community and IMSH conferences have always been an exciting venue for growth and development. The connections and friends I make each year helped me to know what simulation is for my colleagues and how simulations are done in other facilities. As the director of Virtual Learning Center, I was able to implement new simulation techniques based on simulation pedagogy, train simulation champions among faculty, and develop collaborative simulation efforts. In the College of Nursing and Health Professions, I would say my success, drive, passion, growth, and love for simulation is the sum of support from my enthusiastic colleagues and a very supportive dean.

What do you like to most about healthcare simulation?

Simulation is my life blood and I love every inch of it. The things I like most are the ‘freedom to imagine’ and the ability to ‘recreate experiential learning’ without compromising ‘patient safety.’ The concepts of mannequin simulation, actor based simulations, virtual reality, or hybrid simulations help facilitators to provide real life simulated learning environments for our learners. Through simulation, it is now possible for our curious learners to learn through negative consequences which otherwise is not possible in a real life clinical setting. Simulation is also an eye-opener for faculty and curriculum leaders to analyze the quality and competency of our learners. Over, previous years the data obtained from our simulations helped our faculty to address specific concepts through simulations.

What is the most challenging about healthcare simulation?

None of us are free of challenges in academia!!!!! Healthcare simulation has its own challenges in terms of money, human resources, space, training, buy-in, academic ranking, and remunerations. These challenges are global, but as simulation grows, solutions also emerge. There are early adopters and late adopters of simulation at every level of the system. There are different levels of challenges in each level of organizational systems to plan and implement simulation. System training and collective growth over time have helped me to open the view and look to simulation and thereby alleviate many challenges or barriers for the growth of simulation.

With the knowledge gained through becoming certified, how has this transformed and benefited your work as a healthcare simulationist?

I think the certification process had a direct impact in the quality and authenticity of my work. Certification openly resonates a level of standard in your work. The certification process helped me to develop a broad base of knowledge in different aspects of simulation. It helped me to connect theory and practice of simulation. CHSE credentialing is certainly the next higher step in my simulation professional carrier. Through CHSE, I always have a medium to connect with SSIH, an organization that has contributed a lot in my professional growth.

What do you do in healthcare simulation?

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/jewel-abraham-msn-rn-cne-chse/73/5b2/11