President’s Update with Chad Epps, MD
I am pleased to have this opportunity to update our members on many exciting developments under way at SSH. Overall, we are focusing more on patient safety, both in terms of the education that we provide at our conferences and the messages we deliver about why simulation is so important in healthcare.
Partnership with INACSL
One very exciting development is that SSH is working with the International Nursing Association for Simulation and Clinical Learning (INACSL) to develop low-cost regional workshops in response to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) guidelines that were recently released.
These one-day workshops will allow participants to gain insight into the NCSBN guidelines and how SSH and INACSL standards can be used to address the guidelines. This will also be an opportunity for simulationists within a geographical area to network and share experiences.
At IMSH 2016, we signed a memorandum of understanding with INACSL, and a task force comprised of both SSH and INACSL members are working to create content and plan for the workshops. We anticipate the first workshop will be offered in fall 2016. Stay tuned!
Updates To Our Governance
The 2015 SSH Strategic Plan contains four principle elements: identity, value, leadership and sustainability. One goal for sustainability includes development of a sustainable model of governance. With this in mind, SSH engaged a governance consultant six months ago who has been reviewing the organization’s governance practices and conducting interviews, surveys, and a face-to-face workshop with several SSH members. The consultant has completed his recommendations to ensure SSH and its Board of Directors is aligned with association best practices. Over the coming months, the Board of Directors will review the final report and develop an implementation plan.
Upcoming Conferences
We also have ramped-up our education component significantly. This summer we are presenting SimOps 2016 in Greenville, SC, July 21-22. SimOps is the largest regional hands-on healthcare simulation training and education event for simulation operations and technical professionals. The education helps improve efficiency, teamwork and communication for the entire healthcare simulation team. It’s a valuable experience, and one that I hope you will enjoy attending.
We are also hosting the Asia Pacific Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (APMSH), in Singapore, November 15-17. APMSH 2016 is held in conjunction with the National University of Singapore, and we are very excited to fulfill our goal of being a truly global resource and presence for simulation in healthcare. More details on the agenda for APMSH are coming soon.
Facilitating online engagement
And finally, we are making tremendous inroads in social media. We now have 1,461 followers on Twitter, and at the time of this writing, over the last 28 days, Tweet impressions were up more than 30 percent, and profile visits were up more than 28 percent. On our Facebook page, we have more than 1,700 likes, a number which is also growing.
But more than the number of likes and followers, I want us to be facilitating an online dialogue about the importance of simulation, new developments in our field and the ways that simulation is advancing patient safety. It should also be a forum where people can ask questions and post important case studies. If you are not following us, please find us on Twitter @SSHorg and on Facebook. And, be sure to join the conversations taking place on SimConnect, our members-only online community.
Once again, my focus as president is patient safety: enhancing it through simulation and communicating to the world why simulation is vital. I hope you are as pleased as I am about our new initiatives and all that we are doing.
Chad Epps, MD
SSH President 2016
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