Welcome to the New STORM!
To all those who design, manage, and implement healthcare simulation technologies, I am excited to present the first issue of Simulation Technology & Operations Resource Magazine (STORM).
Since becoming Editor-in-Chief a year ago, surrounded by an exceptional board of multidisciplinary experts, I have been astounded by the great progress made in bringing this much needed resource to fruition. With support from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH), we were able to quickly develop our guiding principles and submission process, which we believe best represent the field of healthcare simulation operations.
Simulating the healthcare experience is wrought with the operational challenge of standardizing how we utilize new and existing technologies to ensure the achievement of learning objectives. Although standards can be found in existing resources such as in the SSH accreditation materials, there remains significant differences between one simulation operation to the next.
However, I believe those tasked with managing the operational components of simulation are the true constant between not only different programs, but from one individual activity to the next. They are the common link between educators, learners, and numerous vendors, working effortlessly to bring technologies to life. Simulation Operations Specialists (SOS) must be recognized and embraced by their organizations as essential components in developing high quality simulations. They should also be empowered to develop best practices that follow quality improvement processes; practices that can be shared and modeled within and between programs. STORM provides an outlet for that recognition and empowerment.
As a peer reviewed electronic journal, STORM will feature exemplar work and is a place to present newly developed, robust methods for easy adoption at your home institution. Not only that, STORM will push the boundaries of what it means to be an SOS by communicating operational ideas that go beyond manikins, task trainers, and other technologies.
STORM will encourage every SOS to expand their value into the programmatic elements of a simulation operation by providing a new lens through which to view and grow the educational impact of simulation.
Ultimately, patient safety is at the heart of everything we do, and the SOS’s keep that heart pumping. The more we define and standardize operational methods, focus on measurable learning objectives, and evaluate the fidelity of simulation technology, the more we can narrow the gap between simulated and clinical healthcare environments.
David Biffar, MS, CHSOS-A
STORM Editor-in-Chief