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 By Gerald Sonnenberg
EES Marketing and Communication
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Simulation Learning, Education and Research Network (SimLEARN) began rolling out training to help VA medical staff care for our Veteran patients during this COVID-19 pandemic. This initial course, called COVID-19 Patient Airway Management Outside of Operating Room is designed for current airway managers that could come in direct contact with Veterans contaminated with the virus or other Veterans in close proximity.
COVID-19 is a “new coronavirus that has not been previously identified,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Symptoms include mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough and difficulty breathing. This is of particular concern, and why this course was developed.
For the rest of the story, click here.
In this photo, an image of the VHA SimLEARN National Simulation Center in Orlando, Florida. (VA courtesy photo)
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By Gerald Sonnenberg
EES Marketing and Communication
ORLANDO, Fla. – Courses offered at the VHA SimLEARN National Simulation Center in Orlando, Florida have been cancelled through June due to ongoing efforts to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Courses are still scheduled for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020. However, check back often on the course catalog for updates to the class schedule, check availability, or to enroll in courses.
The following courses are scheduled to take place through September 2020:
- Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Course (PICC) - July 7 and July 9
- SimLEARN Faculty Instructor Course (SFIC) – July 10
- Introduction to Clinical Simulation (ICS) - July 21 and Sept. 15
- Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) - July 28 and Aug. 11
- Musculoskeletal - Clinician (MSK-C) – July 28 and Aug. 11
- Simulations for Clinical Excellence in Nursing Services (SCENS) – Aug. 3 and Aug. 31
- Point of Care Ultra Sound (POCUS) – Aug. 25
- Fundamentals of Critical Care Support (FCCS) – Aug. 25
- Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA) – Sept. 4
If you have questions, please contact EES SimLEARN NSC Support EESSimLEARNNSCSupport@va.gov.
For more information about the SimLEARN program, please visit the SimLEARN website.
The VHA public internet site for COVID-19 training is www.va.gov/COVIDtraining
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By Gerald Sonnenberg
EES Marketing and Communication
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Simulation Learning, Education and Research Network (SimLEARN) released another training course addressing care for our Veteran patients during this COVID-19 pandemic. Provided in collaboration with the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), the course is called COVID-19 Critical Care for the Non-ICU Clinician.
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, the number of critically ill patients is expected to surge in hospitals across the United States. This may result in non-ICU clinicians being needed to care for critically ill patients. SCCM's Critical Care for the Non-ICU Clinician provides online education to health care professionals who may benefit from critical care training.
For the rest of the story, click here.
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By Gerald Sonnenberg
EES Marketing and Communication
ORLANDO, Fla. – During normal operations, VHA only recognizes certification for Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) by the American Heart Association (AHA). However, due to the declared national emergency and requirement to onboard direct care staff in an expedited manner, an April 1 memorandum issued by the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management Renee Oshinski grants a temporary waiver, not to exceed 120 days, to accept BLS or ACLS certification from alternative vendors.
For the rest of the story, click here.
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By Jonathan Karlen, BSN, RN
Simulation Coordinator
and Amanda Westlake, BSN, RN
Nursing Education Coordinator/Instructor
William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital
MADISON, Wisc. – The William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin is currently utilizing two game-based learning applications from the VHA Employee Education System in its nurse residency and charge nurse programs.
The game-based learning system called MedSurg assists nurses in developing awareness and appreciation of a deteriorating patient’s condition while acquiring the necessary diagnostic knowledge and skills to identify the patient’s worsening condition in a timely manner to prevent a medical emergency code. Charge Nurse is an application designed to provide professional medical and health care providers needed iterative leadership, management, administrative, educational and clinical skills training intended to improve the novice and expert charge nurses’ efficiency and effectiveness
For the rest of the story, click here.
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By Sherri Boisvert PhD, MSN, RN
Simulation Outreach Network (SON)
VHA SimLEARN National Simulation Center
ORLANDO, Fla. – One of the top priorities discussed by VA Secretary Robert Wilkie during his confirmation hearing was the accessibility and quality of care provided to rural Veterans. Rural Veterans may be 600 miles from the nearest Veterans Affairs medical center, impeding their access and quality of care. Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) were established to accommodate this access. However there still exists the problem of qualified, trained health care workers to provide care in these remote areas.
Understanding the challenge of educating clinicians serving rural Veterans, the Office of Rural Health and SimLEARN collaborated in a workforce development project to address these challenges. The project’s overarching goal was to expand the development of simulation-based health care training programs in VA rural-based facilitates.
For the rest of the story, click here.
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By Mary Sturgeon, DMD, RDH
Interprofessional Advanced Clinical Simulation Fellow,
Shelley Miyasaki, DDS, Ph.D
Assistant Chief of Dentistry, Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon
and Richard Fidler, CRNA, NP, Ph.D
Director of Simulation and the Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Clinical Simulation
San Francisco VA Medical Center
SAN FRANCISCO – Thirteen years ago, San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVA) Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, Shelley Miyasaki, DDS, Ph.D, met the SFVA Director of Simulation and the Interprofessional Advanced Fellowship in Clinical Simulation Richard Fidler, CRNA, NP, Ph.D, when he was administering anesthesia across the drape in the operating room. Fidler was describing a simulation scenario for an airway fire to which Shelley replied, “Why aren’t you working with the dentists? We work in the airway all the time.”
Since that day, Fidler and Miyasaki have worked together providing medical emergency response training to dental services in VISN 21 and across the country. They understand that dental providers should have access to this training as vital members of the VA health care team.
For the rest of the story, click here.
In this photo, left to right, are Richard Fidler, CRNA, San Francisco; Christian Penaranda, CRNA, Miami, Florida; Craig Addison, RN, Chicago; Valerie Reid, RN, Chicago; Mary Sturgeon, DMD, San Francisco; Richard Kaplan, DMD, Milwaukee/Green Bay, Wisconsin; Kristine Schedler, DDS, Milwaukee; Ankur Patel, DDS, Milwaukee/Green Bay; Marvenia Novis, RN, San Francisco; Elizabeth Nuñez, DMD, Tampa, Florida; Lam Le, DMD, Milwaukee; and Shelley Miyasaki, DDS, San Francisco; during the Introduction to Clinical Simulation Course in February at the VHA SimLEARN National Simulation Center in Orlando, Florida. (VA courtesy photo)
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