Greetings, Fellow Simulationists!
Solidly into the back half of 2021 now, I can tell you SSH volunteer leaders and SSH Staff have all sights set on finishing the calendar year strong and being ready for IMSH in January! With our eyes on the upcoming months, I have a few general updates I’d like to share:
HEALTHCARE SIMULATION WEEK 2021 - SEPT. 13-19!
SSH will again take part in Healthcare Simulation Week, which has become an amazing annual celebration and display for the entire industry!
The Media and Communications Committee has been hard at work putting together several social media-based presentations friendly to both domestic and international schedules, and I’m excited to see the ways SSH will be prominently featured while promoting its “Reunite!” theme as a precursor to IMSH.
One of the easiest ways for you to help make our collective healthcare simulation voice strong is to put your pin on the Healthcare Simulation Week Map! It takes less than two minutes to fill in some simple location information and share how you’re planning to engage in the week. As of this writing, we are nearing 200 pins on the map from around the world! It’s amazing to see, and I’d love for you to be on there, too.
See this page to stay up-to-date on schedule info, download the official Healthcare Simulation Week toolkit, get entry information for this yer's video contest, and get more info on how you and/or your center can participate in spreading and celebrating the great benefit of Healthcare Simulation! (You can also get merchandise and campaign support tools at the official store!)
SIMOPS - A HUGE SUCCESS!
SimOps, SSH’s first face-to-face/full hybrid event since the beginning of the pandemic, was a great success. Because it was at the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS), which is considered part of a medical facility, participants were required to wear masks during the event.
Haru Okuda, MD, FACEP, FSSH, the Executive Director of CAMLS who also happens to be SSH President Elect, was there and shared his thoughts with me.
“Simulationists from 30 states gathered at CAMLS to learn about the importance of simulation operations and technology during the Society for Simulation in Healthcare’s SimOps2021 conference,” Okuda said. “We had an impactful keynote by SSH Board of Directors At-Large member Shelita Kimble, Med, BS, CHSOS – a true leader in simulation operations. She talked about her story from simulation operations specialist to leader in her field.
“We were also proud to be a critical part of the effort to provide high-quality content for more than 70 SimOps DELIVERS virtual attendees, LIVE!” Okuda said.
Echoing Haru’s sentiment, our many thanks to the SimOps 2021 Planning Committee – Amanda Carmack, DNP, MBVA, RN, CNE, CCRN-K; Colleen Reiner, M.Ed; Phillip Wortham, BA, CHSOS; and Jarrod Young, MBA, CHSOS – for their spectacular efforts in ensuring that SimOps 2021 was a success.
Also, my hat is off to the amazing SSH staff who supported the planning team and made sure that everything ran smoothly pre-event, during the event, and after!
COVID-19 AND IMSH 2022
As we’re all aware at this point, we are living in a very fluid state as it pertains to what needs to be done to protect ourselves against COVID-19.
It has been shown that the first and most important step one can take is to get vaccinated. With the recent increase in breakthrough infections, it is even more important! As key members of healthcare organizations, simulationists must find ways to promote access to vaccinations and decrease reasons for resistance others may have for getting vaccinated.
I have a two-year-old grandson who is the light of my life. He can’t get vaccinated right now, so he is asking, on my behalf, you and those you know to do your part:
Unfortunately, there are many who continue to perpetuate misinformation about COVID-19. In the U.S., Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, has published an advisory entitled: Confronting Health Misinformation. There are two sections I encourage you to read: “What Educators and Educational Institutions Can Do” and “What Health Professionals and Health Organizations Can Do”.
On this note, I am sure you are wondering what SSH is doing in response to the recent uptick in infection as it relates to future event planning.
At this time, we are anticipating an in person/hybrid IMSH meeting in Los Angeles, California, January 15-19, 2022. That said, we realize a pivot to a virtual meeting may be on the table again this year if it is in the best interest of protecting the safety of our members, attendees, and everyone who works in support of the event. Those decisions have not been made, but SSH Staff are closely following the CDC, California, Los Angeles, and venue guidelines and requirements. We will let you know as soon as any decision is made.
In the meantime, stay safe, stay strong, and please take part in promoting Healthcare Simulation Week 2021!
Until next month …
Juli Maxworthy, DNP, PhD (c), MSN, MBA, RN, CNL, CPHQ, CPPS, CHSE, FNAP, FSSH
President, Society for Simulation in Healthcare