Sim Ops Pittsburgh

The Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) is pleased to announce the overwhelming success of its first regional conference dedicated to simulation technicians and operations specialists. Sim Ops Pittsburgh was held on July 11 & 12, 2014 in Pittsburgh, PA at the Peter M. Winter Institute for Simulation Education and Research (WISER). The event was attended by over 180 individuals excited to be part of this inaugural meeting "for techs by techs".

SSH Sim Ops Pittsburgh offered participants the opportunity to network with peers, collaborate with exhibitors, and participate in interactive workshops and presentations. In addition, conference attendees had the opportunity to learn, first hand, about the newly launched Certified Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialist certification.

The conference kicked-off Friday morning with an energizing keynote presentation by Dr. Paul Phrampus, Director of WISER and SSH Immediate Past-President. Dr. Phrampus drew upon his experience in healthcare simulation and as a former Navy Electronics Technician to discuss the importance of workforce development associated with the technical support of simulation programs.

Participants were further engaged in a unique team centered event, presented by Dr. Randolph Steadmen and Jamie Stiner. This innovative physician/sim tech faculty team created a lively collaboration exercise to help participants incorporate task delegation, role assignment, mutual support and leadership into their daily work.

Participants concluded the first day of events with an intimate networking reception hosted by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare where they had the opportunity to make connections with peers, exhibitors, and industry leaders. The conference concluded with 4 teams competing in the Sim Tech Challenge. Each team was provided a scenario and asked to set up a simulation.

SSH and the Sim Ops Planning Team would like to thank all participants and faculty who attended SSH Sim Ops Pittsburgh and made this event a success!