Each year, the Gathering Of Healthcare Simulation Technology Specialists nonprofit organization, SimGHOSTS, hosts a healthcare simulation conference to bring the spectrum of medical simulation operations professionals together to improve learner and patient outcomes. This year’s in-person 2023 event was hosted by the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Davis Global Center iEXCEL program in Omaha, Nebraska, which has been called “one of the best healthcare simulation centers in the world” by HealthySimulation.com Founder / CEO Lance Baily. The 4-day clinical simulation conference elevates healthcare simulation operations delivery with hands-on workshops, demonstrations, and oral presentations delivered by the international simulation operations community. The 2023 event which has been confirmed as the largest SimGHOSTS conference ever held, themed “iDiscover, iExplore, iEXCEL – Together” challenges participants to discover how to design and deliver impactful simulations, and explore new products, technologies, and techniques from community and industry experts. This HealthySimulation.com article shares about the 2023 event.
Platinum sponsored by AVI-SPL and gold sponsored by SimX and Oxford Medical Simulation, the event was also attended by the most number of healthcare simulation technology vendors showcasing the latest in clinical simulation technologies, including CAE Healthcare, TacMed Solutions, Echo Healthcare, Sim2Grow and many more.
SimGHOSTS President Ferooz Sekandarpoor said about the 2023 event that “this is the biggest and one of the best SimGHOSTS conferences we have ever organized, and the board of directors is thrilled to be hosted by UNMC here in Omaha, a state-of-the-art medical simulation center which everyone must experience in person!” He continued “these four days are dedicated to bringing the global community together, some from as far away as Ireland, Argentina, and Hong Kong, and all over North America, to network, learn, train and experience together – we are so excited to get started!”.
Pamela Boyers PhD, associate vice chancellor of clinical simulation and UNMC, said it is an honor for iEXCEL to be invited to host the 2023 conference at the Davis Global Center on the UNMC campus. “This will be an opportunity for simulation centers to collaborate, share best practices and, above all, focus on how to provide the best training possible for all health care professionals,” Dr. Boyers said. “We will look forward to sharing success stories with each other, as well as addressing challenges faced as, collectively, simulation experts help create the future model for health professions education. Dr. Boyers said she was pleased to be able to display the iEXCEL program to other leaders in the simulation field, but also to show off the city of Omaha. “Participants in SimGHOSTS will have the opportunity to not only visit this forward-looking medical campus, but also immerse themselves in the amazing, friendly and lively Omaha culture,” she concluded.
Throughout the day, tours were provided of the multi-level clinical simulation center, which demonstrated the latest in advanced medical simulation technologies working at scale. Going above and beyond, the iEXCEL program also hosts a number of animators who are constantly building unique 3D learning content specific to the needs of the center, and as well, the greater Nebraska clinical education community. The showcase is undoubtedly impressive, with tour goers wide-eyed with the reality of what is possible for a healthcare simulation program which maximizes innovation with a combination of philanthropic, state and federal funding. Not only this, but the Davis Global Center also holds an entire floor dedicated to infectious control, with twenty national quarantine rooms, which held the first U.S. patient cases of COVID just months after it opened in Q1 of 2020 – all right in the center of America in Nebraska.
Keynote Address by Patient Safety Documentary Filmmaker
Mike Eisenberg, Director of the film To Err is Human: A Patient Safety Documentary was introduced as the SimGHOSTS 2023 keynote speaker. Mike started his talk by remembering his father Dr. John M. Eisenberg, who passed away in 2002, and who was one of the pioneers of exploring patient safety and medical errors in healthcare. Mike then shared with the audience a short film which laid out the stats, with as many as 440,000 people dying each year due to medical error, which is equivalent to 3 jumbo jets every single day, with as many as 79% of infections being preventable. Dramatic examples of medical error suggest that only 30% of healthcare providers wash their hands properly. When asked, about 90% of the room raised their hand to the question “Do you know someone who has died or been injured by medical error?”, shocking the audience as the prevalence of the issue.
Mike encouraged us to consider ways that we can share concerning patient safety data through storytelling to help better. Mike believes that part of the issue is that medicine is not looking outside of itself, but is only looking from within, otherwise known as the streetlight effect analogy where “one only looks where they can see”. Mike reminded the audience about the improvements of auto manufacturing, which eventually saw the regulation of seat belts, airbags, and vehicle frame construction. Mike explains that we must anticipate that humans make mistakes, which means we need to build systems to prevent errors from compounding and becoming catastrophes.
Examples of Sessions Taking Place at SimGHOSTS 2032 UNMC Omaha
- Basic & Advanced Moulage Techniques Workshops
- CHSOS Readiness Review Workshop
- Using the INACSL Standards of Best Practice Workshop
- Demystifying simulation-based education”: An experiential iWall opportunity for Simulation Operations Specialists
- A Scaffold Approach to Simulationist Professional Development Workshop
- Excel with Checklists – Let’s Explore the Design Thinking Process
- Making the Connection: Managing AV Signals for the Non IT AV Simulation Tech Specialist
- The Experience Outcome of Hiring Biomedical Engineers as Healthcare Simulation Technologists: Lessons and Recommendations
- Tackling the Sepsis Clinical Outcome Giant with Virtual Reality Simulation for Nurses –
- Fun with Ballistic Gel in Medical Moulage
- E-Learning Module: Experiencing Social Determinants of Health in an Intergenerational Latino Family
- Bringing Learning to Life: The iEXCEL Visualization Team – VR/AR, 3D & Holographic Visualization in Medical Education
- A Scaffold Approach to Simulationist Professional Development Workshop
- Utilizing Low-cost and Open-source Technologies to Create an Audio/Visual Installation for Simulation Recording and Streaming
- E-Learning Module: Experiencing Social Determinants of Health in an Intergenerational Latino Family
- Bringing Learning to Life: The iEXCEL Visualization Team – VR/AR, 3D & Holographic Visualization in Medical Education –
- And dozens more… review the entire program for SimGHOSTS 2023 here.
More About SimGHOSTS
SimGHOSTS, also known as The Gathering Of Healthcare Simulation Technology Specialists, is an international United States-based non-profit organization. The organization is dedicated to supporting individuals and institutions operating medical simulation technology and spaces through hands-on training events, online resources, and professional development.
By offering support and resources to medical simulation professionals, SimGHOSTS hopes to create a healthcare education culture where people are empowered to use simulation technology to improve learning and patient care outcomes. For this reason, SimGHOSTS has created six core values, the first of which is to innovate the world of healthcare simulation and patient safety.
SimGHOSTS 2023 challenges simulationists to excel by growing professional expertise to improve healthcare quality and safety through healthcare simulation. The meeting objectives are to:
- Meet with other Simulation Champions and share best practices
- Network and build long term industry relationships with peers and vendors
- Discuss and develop professional community needs and standards
Other organizational core values include advocating for those operating healthcare simulation technology spaces, educating the professional community to improve outcomes, and networking with global community members at regional events and online hubs. The last two core values are to engage champions, institutions, and organizations, and zeal for the craft of simulation in healthcare throughout the community and profession.
More About University of Nebraska Medical Center iEXCEL and Davis Global Center
The UNMC Interprofessional Experiential Center for Enduring Learning/iEXCEL in centrally located Omaha, Nebraska. iEXCEL is a transformative program creating a new model for healthcare education, training and research. UNMC’s Dr. Edwin G. & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center (Davis Global Center) is the headquarters for the iEXCEL program. The Dr. Edwin G. & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center (Davis Global Center) is a highly advanced clinical simulation facility purposefully designed to foster the practice of patient care in highly-functioning and effective interprofessional teams. The 192,000 sq.ft. center is made up of five distinct levels that work together to create a safe and innovative learning environment.
