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In This Issue:
Featured Training
SimLEARN has a variety of courses available throughout the year. Upcoming courses are offered in-person and virtually. For more information, visit our course catalog or send us an email at VASimLEARNGeneralInformation@va.gov.
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By: Eric Bruns, MBA, Executive Director, SimLEARN
As we embark on a new year at SimLEARN, I thank everyone who has witnessed and contributed to our growth so far. In 2022, we continue to welcome everyone to be a part of our innovation and expansion journey to further impact Veteran healthcare through simulation technology. SimLEARN has evolved its identity, starting with our new acronym, the Simulation, Learning, Evaluation, Assessment, and Research Network as we merged into the Office of Discovery, Education, and Affiliate Networks (DEAN). SimLEARN now operates with a vision to be an indispensable asset to the enterprise and its partners by providing world class services to all Veterans through innovation and simulation education.
This year, we are looking forward to increasing activity in our National Simulation Center (NSC) with an ease in travel restrictions allowing for face-to-face classes, team conferences, and collaboration visits.
Read more about what SimLEARN has in store for the rest of the year here.
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SimLEARN's Assessment Collaboration and Outreach (ACO) team, formerly named Simulation Outreach Network, provides process simulation to assess vulnerabilities in patient flow, workflow, and equipment. In addition to System/Hospital Activation (SHA), ACO has now implemented pre-construction testing and post-construction activation, Simulation-based Healthcare Design Testing (SbHDT). The ACO portfolio has developed a partnership with the Office of Construction Facilities Management to conduct SbHDT. From October 18-21, 2021, SbHDT took place at the focused Community Based Outpatient Center (CBOC) Patient Care Room at SimLEARN’s National Simulation Center in Orlando, Florida.
Visit SimLEARN’s website to learn about the highlights of that four-day meeting.
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 SimLEARN has done an incredible job with serving internal and external customers alike since COVID-19 began. Safety has been and still is paramount now more than ever for our VA employees, visitors, and guests. Wearing a mask, social distancing, and handwashing – or the “Big 3” – are key to the prevention of spreading the coronavirus and ensuring safety for everyone.
Saving lives and providing continuous quality service to our Veterans must continue even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic; however, we must be diligent in our efforts to keep ourselves safe while doing so. We can be proud of the continued adherence to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines which kept the building safe for everyone.
Read further about how SimLEARN is keeping staff and visitors safe by using the “Big 3.”
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VA Puget Sound Health Care System's (VAPSHCS) Critical Care Team and Nursing Education Simulation Program offered an on-site Fundamental Critical Care Support (FCCS) course, which is licensed by the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM). This on-site course was facilitated by SimLEARN. The goal of this course is to support the staff in managing the initial care of critically ill patients for the first 24 hours or until appropriate critical care support can be achieved. The Critical Care Team and Nursing Education Simulation Program had in-person training so we could address the knowledge gap in qualified clinicians who can facilitate fundamental critical care support using simulation modalities.
Click here to discover the principles used in this course that help to provide staff life-saving knowledge and guidance for decision making.
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 Dr. Chad Kessler, MD, MBA, MHPE, FACEP, FACHE and Dr. Ryan Vega, MD, MSHA
SimLEARN is proud to congratulate Dr. Chad Kessler, MD, MBA, MHPE, FACEP, FACHE and Dr. Ryan Vega, MD, MSHA for winning Association of Military Surgeons of the US (AMSUS) awards for the 2021-2022 awards cycle. Dr. Kessler, who was one of the original people to help with developing the SimLEARN concept in 2009, was honored with a Communication Award. Dr. Vega, who serves as the chief officer of Healthcare Innovation and Learning for VA, received an Innovator Award in AMSUS’ premier category.
AMSUS acknowledges the abilities of many outstanding federal healthcare individuals each year through its awards program. Award winners will be recognized at the 2022 AMSUS Annual Meeting at the Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center in Maryland on February 10.
Click here for a full list of 2021-2022 AMSUS Award winners.
Under the mentorship of their Fellowship Program Director, Dr. Rich Fidler, PhD, CRNA, CHSE, San Francisco Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Clinical Simulation graduates continue to collaborate to spread simulation across professions and country lines. Three graduates – Dr. Yahya Acar, Dr. Jose Generoso, and Dr. Mary Sturgeon – presented at the 2022 International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH), which was held in Los Angeles, California. IMSH is an international conference that explores the latest innovations and best practices in healthcare simulation.
Click here to learn how the former SimLEARN fellows are contributing to the field of simulation.
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 For those of us working as medical direct patient caregivers, we know that excessive, abnormal sweating can offer a quick sign of a patient’s condition. Recreating this on a manikin or a live actor participant can add fidelity and enhance the simulation experience for learners. In the past, tap water, sprayed on the actor or manikin, has been used but that evaporates too quickly. Bottled glycerin drizzled on the skin can work but is messy, time-consuming, and tends to run off the skin.
SimLEARN Paramedic Healthcare Educational Simulation Specialist Larry Davis reveals how you make a manikin or actor sweat quickly, easily, and safely.
When working as a simulation professional it is of utmost importance to ensure that inventory is accurate at all times. Knowing what equipment is available and its location are the top two priorities regarding managing assets. That’s one of the key reasons that the North Las Vegas VA Medical Center has updated its inventory management by using The Asset Manager program within Microsoft Teams. The prior system included paper and pencil, which could cause issues with paperwork errors, timeliness and accuracy. Having the inventory accessible in Teams allows interested educators, team members and other users to view the items with availability easily and updated in real time.
Learn how to build a digital asset management system via Microsoft Teams for your site work site or simulation center here.
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During the week of January 3, 2022, SimLEARN’s Emerging Healthcare Technology Integration (EHTI) program, the Veteran Health Administration (VHA) Extended Reality (XR) Network, Orlando VA Healthcare System’s (OVAHCS) Innovation Program and the University of Central Florida’s College of Health Professions and Sciences met for a physical and virtual tour of UCF’s XR capabilities, projects, and partnerships.
At the end of the tour, representatives from all three entities met to debrief and align the potential for partnership leveraging the VHA Innovation Ecosystem and SimLEARN’s Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) authority to collaborate on several projects. One of the partnerships will focus on holoportation simulation experiences that allows for ‘live-beam’ or pre-recorded holographic content to be shared with audiences at life-sized scale that feels true to life to best support learning.
Read more about the VR projects that could potentially have transformative impacts on Veterans who are who are facing mental health challenges.
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New SLICE Cells
The SimLEARN Innovation Center for Education (SLICE) is proud to announce the following 8 sites have become cells:
- Manchester, NH
- West Haven Green, CT
- Bronx, NY
- Erie, PA
- Tampa, FL
- Columbus, OH
- Kansas City, MO
- Mather, CA
Read more.
New Certified Simulation Centers
SimLEARN is proud to award five new simulation certifications. Certifications are awarded to qualified facilities twice each year, last for four years, and are renewable. They are a distinctive accomplishment with three tiers of certification: basic, intermediate, and advanced.
Basic
- Tennessee Valley Healthcare System - Nashville, TN
- Overton Brooks VA Medical Center - Shreveport, LA
- Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center - Columbia, SC
- Roseburg VA Healthcare System - Roseburg, OR
Intermediate
- VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System - Topeka, KS
Full list of certified facilities.
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Simulation Exchange is a product of the VHA SimLEARN National Simulation Center. The program’s operations and management is conducted by the VHA Employee Education System in close collaboration with the Office of Patient Care Services and the Office of Nursing Services. Some links go directly to sites that can only be accessed by people who have access to the VA network. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please share this message with others. To subscribe click here. For more information, visit www.simlearn.va.gov. |
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