Healthcare Simulation Week – September 13-16, 2022 Changing the Way Healthcare Professionals Learn & Improve Patient Care

September 15, 2022
Sim Week

To increase awareness among the public of the importance of simulation to healthcare, the fourth annual global Healthcare Simulation Week is September 13-16, 2022, sponsored by Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH). Healthcare Simulation Week celebrates professionals who use healthcare simulation to improve the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of healthcare delivery. New methods and technologies are emerging that present enhanced opportunities to improve patient care; as a result, it is an important field in which many healthcare professionals are finding a lifelong career.

“We consider our Sim Center a valuable resource for both faculty and students. Simulation provides students a safe environment where they can gain confidence and proficiency in their clinical judgment and nursing skills,” said Dean Linda Plank, LHSON.

“Healthcare Simulation Week allows us to share our passion for all things ‘sim’ and spread the word that simulation-based education is a proven pedagogy for training safe and competent healthcare providers, thereby improving patient outcomes,” said Jeanne Carey, MEd, RN, CHSE, Director of Simulation, LHSON. “Creating realistic clinical experiences in a safe space is an important feature of nursing skills labs. Students need to practice skills dozens of times prior to performing that skill on a patient. This deliberate practice should be performed in a manner that closely mimics the clinical setting to promote the transfer of knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs).”

LHSON Simulation is located in the Clinical Simulation Building at 3700 Worth Street in Dallas, Texas. Gaining some historic perspective, the opening of the new LHSON Academic Building on Washington Avenue in June of 2018 left behind the Simulation Lab to occupy the former four-story nursing school building on Worth Street. Rebranding the facility as the Clinical Simulation Building, also included expanding from the original three simulation rooms with 2,500 square feet to an outstanding four floors with over 25,000 square feet! This growth allowed for a substantial increase in simulation-based activities integrated throughout the undergraduate and graduate programs.

Simulation, in all its modalities, is integrated across LHSON curricula. Graduate and undergraduate students participate in a variety of simulation-based activities every semester and these experiences are tailored to specific clinical settings. Level One students spend 10 hours per week in skills-based simulation, learning how to assess patients and perform various skills. Level Two students encounter scenario-based simulations during their Medical-Surgical and Mental Health clinical rotations and participate in a virtual simulation activity as part of the Maturing Family simulation, so they gain some perspective on the challenges faced by an older adult. The Pediatric simulation activity on Level Three, pairs a high-fidelity pediatric simulator with a Standardized Patient (SP) in the role of the parent; this allows our students to practice caring for a five-year old patient while managing an upset/anxious/angry/demanding parent. The Community Health simulation exposes our Level 4 students to the importance of cultural competency when providing care. Level Four students appreciate this opportunity to practice difficult conversations in a safe environment. The Transition-to-Practice sim activity focuses on prioritization, delegation, and scope of practice, valuable skills for the novice nurse. Simulations on the graduate level encompass a wide range of activities, created to meet the needs of the students. The customization of simulation makes it a valuable teaching resource for students at all levels.

To learn more please visit www.ssih.org/HcSimWeek, @HcSimWeek and #HcSimWeek22.

About Society for Simulation in Healthcare
The largest healthcare simulation organization in the world, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) is a 501(c)3 organization with more than 5,100 members from more than 60 countries. SSH was established in 2004. SSH’s purpose is to serve a global community of practice enhancing the quality of healthcare. The mission of SSH is to serve its members by fostering education, professional development, and the advancement of research and innovation; promote the profession of healthcare simulation through standards and ethics; and champion healthcare simulation through advocating sharing, facilitating, and collaborating

About Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing
The Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) located in Dallas, Texas, was established in 1909 as a diploma program within Baylor Hospital in Dallas, which is now Baylor Scott & White Health’s Baylor University Medical Center, and in 1950 became one of the six degree-granting schools of Baylor University. The first Baccalaureate degrees were granted in 1952, establishing the School among the earliest baccalaureate nursing programs in Texas. In 1999, the School was renamed the Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing after Louise Herrington Ornelas, a 1992 Baylor Alumna Honoris Causa, who made an endowment gift to the School. The LHSON offers Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees through Traditional, FastBacc® (one-year accelerated) and Distance Accelerated BSN programs. Plus, the LHSON offers an online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program with tracks that include Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse-Midwifery, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Executive Nurse Leadership and U.S. Army Anesthesia Nursing (USAGPAN). The U.S. News & World Report 2022 Best Graduate Schools rankings include several LHSON programs, including the DNP program at No. 60 nationally and “Best Nursing” specialty rankings for LHSON’s USAGPAN, which operates at the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, at No. 8 nationally, and Baylor’s Nurse-Midwifery program, which is No. 21 in the nation. In addition, U.S. News & World Report 2022 Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs ranked the LHSON No. 39. To learn more visit www.baylor.edu/nursing