By Gerald Sonnenberg
EES Marketing and Communication

ORLANDO, Fla. – On Sept. 15, SimLEARN staff at the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) National Simulation Center (NSC) hosted a Facebook live event during the first Healthcare Simulation Week Sept. 11-15. The event was organized by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) and was designed to generate widespread recognition of the role that simulation plays in health care education and training.

Viewers were taken on a 360-degree tour of the NSC by Dr. Haru Okuda, SimLEARN national medical director. They also saw a demonstration of how VHA is preparing clinical staff to better care for our Veterans, as well as some of the advanced technology available making this training possible.

The Facebook live broadcast can be seen here on the SSH Facebook page. Click on the video titled “VHA National Simulation Center Tour.”

“This week recognizes the ongoing contributions that professionals in health care simulation make to advancing patient care,” said Jennifer Manos, RN, MSN, MBA, SSH executive director. “It also raises awareness of health care simulation in communities throughout the world.”

The VHA NSC provides a high-fidelity training environment by replicating actual patient treatment areas including an outpatient clinic setting, as well as an inpatient/hospital setting. More information about the NSC is available here.

In the photo, Dr. Haru Okuda, SimLEARN national medical director, talks to viewers of the Facebook live, 360 degree facility tour. In his right hand is a cell phone which allowed him to answer questions or view comments in real time from the viewers. (VA photo by Ramon Garcia)  

ORLANDO, Fla. - Mannequins used for health care simulation training can help make medical personnel even better at caring for our Veterans. But did you ever wonder what makes them tick? The purpose of the Simulation, Technology, Operations, Maintenance, and Practices (STOMP) course is to train Healthcare Simulation Personnel to operate simulation equipment provided through association with SimLEARN.

SimLEARN designs and delivers medical simulation curricula for use on the appropriate operation of simulation equipment in order to achieve the course objectives. This intensive, 3-day course is designed to give participants the knowledge and hands-on skills to operate, diagnose and repair deficiencies and maintain the technologically advanced health care simulation equipment required to conduct immersive, plausible and immensely valuable medical simulation training.

More about this course and others is available here.  

By Jutta Novalija, M.D., Ph.D., CHSE, Anesthesiologist, Director of Milwaukee VA Simulation Program and Tina T. Smith, MS, CHSE, RN-B
Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center

MILWAUKEE – Undergoing surgery and anesthesia is much safer now, and many practicing physicians and nurses can go through their entire career without encountering a life-threatening crisis. In preparing for critical events, simulation is a powerful teaching tool to maintain or further develop skills and prepare the team to function well when seconds count.

Malignant Hyperthermia (MH) is one of these serious events that can happen in the operating room (OR). This is a life-threatening complication if not treated immediately and managed correctly. While extremely rare, some people have a violent reaction to medications routinely administered during general anesthesia and develop extremely high body temperature, dangerously rapid heart rate and breakdown of muscle cells. To prepare for a crisis like this, the interprofessional operating room team at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center here practices regularly with how to respond to a patient presenting MH using high-fidelity simulation. The curriculum was published, and simulation as a teaching tool is valued. But, how do you know that the team really learned from these drills?

Recently, a patient developed complications at the end of a seemingly routine procedure. 

For the rest of the story, click here.  

ORLANDO, Fla. – A Fundamentals in Critical Care Support (FCCS) class is coming up Oct. 31 - Nov. 2. The immersive simulation experience delves into complicated critical care situations that may be encountered frequently when caring for Veterans.

A recent class included 11 nurses and 2 pharmacists with varying degrees of intensive care experience. Dr. Patricio Bruno, associate medical director for training at SimLEARN, spearheaded the 2.5 day learning experience, along with faculty Dr. John Barwise, Dr. Donald Kowalewski, and Sherri Shepherd Ph.D., MSN, RN. Simulation technicians Ivan Rosado and Rick Harper created scenarios so credible that learners forgot the experiences weren’t real.

According to one student, “The simulation experience was amazing.” While another said, “What a great learning experience, I feel much more confident in caring for the critically ill Veteran.” 

For more information, or to register for the upcoming course, click here.

In the photo, (left to right) are recent FCCS class participants: Beverly Buchanan, Renee Cortez, Kettly Darius, Debra Defreitas-Cook, Lucinda Flaherty, Brittany Fries, Teresa Geide, Latiffany Jackson, Teresa Landry, Jennifer Mcguigan, Mirian Onyebueke, Kim Port, and Angela Young. (VA photo by Ramon Garcia)  

ORLANDO, Fla. – Two upcoming courses at the VHA SimLEARN National Simulation Center (NSC) still have openings.

The first is the Musculoskeletal (MSK) clinician class Oct. 11-12. This face-to-face simulation training is designed to enhance primary care providers’ knowledge, skills and confidence to manage common musculoskeletal problems. In addition, this training emphasizes appropriate resource utilization and access to specialty care. To register for this class, click here.

The second is an Introduction to Clinical Simulation Instructor (ICSI) course Oct. 17-19. This course provides a theoretical foundation for simulation-based training by combining didactic, small group and hands-on simulation activities. Participants can develop the skills necessary to design, develop, implement and debrief simulation-based health care training scenarios in their work centers. To register for this class, click here.

By Adrienne Koch, M.Div.
and Marame Gattan, M.D.
Inter-professional Advanced Fellows in Clinical Simulation 2016-2017
Durham VA Health Care System

Durham, N.C. – A physician and a chaplain walk into a patient’s room... This may sound to you like the beginning of a bad joke, but in our case, it’s the beginning of good practice.

In 2012, a sociologist wrote for the Huffington Post on “Speaking Different Languages: Physicians and Chaplains in Health Care.”  The author “shadowed and interviewed physicians and chaplains at large academic hospitals learning how they see each other and work together.” She found that “while some physicians — especially those caring for severely-ill patients and their families — work regularly with chaplains, others do not know who the chaplains are or how to contact them.”

For the rest of the story, click here.