It’s hard to believe that it is August already, and summer is almost over for half of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere.

June and July have been filled with reconnecting for many who were able to attend the multitude of incredible simulation-based conferences offered globally, including SESAM, INACSL, and ASPE in June and SimOps and SimGHOST even more recently.

Like IMSH 2022, this was the first time these conferences occurred in person since the beginning of the pandemic. From what I heard and saw, they were amazingly successful events. For those who attended, I hope you were able to connect with old friends, make new ones, and share best practices and innovations. Juli Maxworthy (SSH Immediate Past President), Jayne Smitten (SSH President Elect), and I had the privilege of representing SSH at many of these meetings.

We connected with respective leaders and looked for opportunities for collaboration and synergy. Some of our discussions included increasing advocacy for simulation in patient safety, certification, and accreditation opportunities, and sharing lessons learned through the pandemic.

We know many of our members are engaged with more than one organization, so we hope to continue collaborating with our affiliated groups to benefit our respective members.

On that collaboration note, Healthcare Simulation Week 2022 is just around the corner, Sept. 12-16! I have several reminders and requests of you:

1. Enter your simulation center/program on the official Healthcare Simulation Participation Map! We saw a record number of more than 510 pins on the map in 2021, and we want to do even better this year. Take a minute and enter your center here.
    
2. Enter your center in this year’s video contest. Entries are shown on the SSH YouTube channel, and it is a fantastic way to showcase your center, staff, team, etc.
    
3. You still have time to order gear, giveaway prizes, team appreciation gifts, and more. Place your orders here.
    
4. If you haven’t already, download the Healthcare Simulation Week toolkit and get access to digital signage, social media, banners, and posters, celebration ideas, templates, and more.

And a final note on this, no matter how you celebrate (there are no wrong ways to take part in the week!), make sure to use the hashtag #hcsimweek22 on ALL of your posts, updates, shares, etc. This campaign is the perfect time and way to utilize Healthcare Simulation Week to educate and advocate the importance and use of simulation in healthcare within your organization.

If you have challenges in getting resources, buy-in, or engagement – that’s what this campaign is built to help with. Thank you to our incredible SSH Media and Communications Committee for your hard work preparing and planning.

Lastly, don’t forget that IMSH 2023 is only six months away! This is the time to start asking leadership for support to attend the meeting in Orlando, Florida. SSH has made it easy for you to make that ask by creating a Justification Toolkit that helps highlight why you really do need to attend the conference.

I hope to see you all in my hometown, Orlando, next year. Let’s break some records and have the highest turnout ever in the history of IMSH!

Haru Okuda, MD, FACEP
SSH President