HealthySimulation.com is proud to unveil their new website in September 2024. HealthySimulation.com is the world’s premier resource website for healthcare simulation clinical professionals. Whether new, returning to healthcare simulation, or a desire to refresh clinical simulation skills, HealthySimulation.com offers the clinical simulation community the latest news, CE/CME webinars and courses, conference coverage, research highlights, helpful guides, job listings, product demos, vendor connection services, and community sharing. As busy professionals, time constraints are often the main barrier to healthcare simulationists’ ability to be creative, innovative, and incorporate best practices to improve healthcare. HealthySimulation.com is the answer with condensed blog-type articles and webinars. This article by Teresa Gore, PhD, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, CHSE-A, FSSH, FAAN, will provide an overview of HealthySimulation.com.
HealthySimulation.com New Website Launch
Since 2010, HealthySimulation.com has grown in breadth and depth. More than 3,500 articles have been published, and over 400 webinars have been conducted and recorded. New articles are published Monday through Friday to keep readers abreast of the latest advancements in healthcare. The new and improved website will make searching for topics more specific. Readers can select a topic, clinical skills, specialty simulation, or simulation phase to narrow and hone their search. The main objective of the website upgrade is to make the information readily available to the simulation community. If you have not already done so, subscribe to our free Healthcare Simulation Newsletter, YouTube Channel, and follow us on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook.
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Where to Start?
Everyone was new to clinical simulation at one time or another. The transition into any new role can be overwhelming. There are so many resources available, which can cause difficulty in knowing where to start. The great news is that HealthySimulation.com has gathered a vast amount of resources for simulation professionals. The new HealthySimulation.com website is more searchable, which will make these easier for the reader to select specific topics, specialties, and simulators. Other valuable resources are professional organizations and professional development opportunities to increase confidence in the clinical simulation.
The first step once on the HealthySimulation.com website is to click on resources, then Beginner. The beginner page provides articles on ‘How to’ tips and suggestions to address common issues in clinical simulation. The person new to simulation should be aware of many aspects of healthcare simulation. HealthySimulation.com is the resource for new simulationists to learn foundational concepts necessary for high-quality clinical simulation. Some of the basic concepts that everyone involved in clinical simulation should be aware of are:
Modality: A simulationist must always remember that modality and fidelity should be selected to meet the learning outcomes and objectives of the simulation scenario. Just because a high-fidelity manikin is available does not mean the simulator should be used. An example is a simulation with the objective for the learner is to talk with a patient about a positive mammogram result – “Breaking Bad News”. The better options would be a standardized patient or virtual reality. The high-fidelity manikin would lack the non-verbal and paraverbal language for the learner to experience interpreting how a patient receives the information and to respond appropriately. Here are some of the levels of simulation modality to understand:
- Fidelity
- High-Fidelity Manikin
- Low-Fidelity Manikin
- Standardized Patient
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Virtual Reality (VR)
- Immersive
- In Situ
- Fidelity
Healthcare Simulation Standards: Evidence-based simulation practice for learners, educators, programs, and operations.
Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator and Advanced: Certification exam for those involved with simulation education once the minimum requirements are obtained.
Certified Healthcare Simulation Simulation Operations Specialists and Advanced: Certification exam for those involved in the simulation operations for healthcare simulation.
- Clinical Simulation Program Accreditation and Endorsement: Simulation program recognition that follows specific guidelines of best simulation practices
- Not-for-Profit Organizations for Simulation (NPO) US State Collaboratives and International Organizations: NPOs are valuable resources for sharing information, resources, education courses / programs, and networking opportunities. The simulation professional should join a local / state / regional / national / or international organization. Here are some of the resources available by these organizations.
- Simulation-Specific Journals: These journals are often the official journals of not-for-profit simulation organization
- Simulation Conferences and Networking Opportunities: Each organization has their annual conference for members and those interested in healthcare simulation. Here are some opportunities:
- Educational Opportunities by Simulation NPO: To help meet the professional development of their learners per best practices, simulation organizations offer education for their members. The courses may be in-person or online (synchronous or asynchronous). Examples of these educational opportunities are:
- Simulation Courses / Programs
Academic / Institutional Simulation Courses / Programs: Some simulationists choose to enroll in formalized education programs for more formalized education in healthcare simulation. These programs can result in a certificate of completion or an undergraduate or graduate simulation concentration or degree. There are many benefits to these courses and programs. A simulation professional can select a program that best meets their needs. Links to the programs are:
- Courses run periodically throughout the year to meet a variety of learner’s needs. An example is the UPMC WISER iSim course, The Boston Children’s Hospital Simulation Courses,
- Degrees in Healthcare Simulation
Simulation-Specific Books: As the adoption of healthcare simulation grows, so does the amount of literature available. So, the question becomes, what should I read or purchase with my limited funds? HealthySimulation.com has provided a list of healthcare simulation books in one place to see the focus of each book and to determine what best suits the new simulationist’s needs.
Valuable Clinical Simulation Free Resources
Multiple articles have been published to gather information on free resources available to the simulation community. During the website redesign, the links were updated, deleted, or added. Some examples are the free simulation scenarios based on specialty, professional development, and more. As valuable free resources are available, HealthySimulation.com disseminates the information with readers. Free resources are identified for various disciplines:
Healthcare Simulation Vendor Products
The best place to get started is to use the HealthySimulation.com Find Vendor Form. Articles and webinars are provided to allow the reader to review the vendor products and analyze if the product is a solution and benefit to their clinical simulation program. Every simulation program is unique, and so are the vendor simulation products. HealthySimulation.com provides a platform for educators, simulation operation specialists, and vendors to learn more about and from each other. These resources give those in healthcare simulation the information needed to make informed decisions. Contact information for the vendors is provided to improve communication between the end users and developers and better meet the needs of the simulation community. HealthySimulation.com vendors for September 2024 are listed. The vendor types include:
- Manikin Manufactures
- Virtual Reality Programs
- Educational Programs
- Competency-Based Education Tracking
- AV Recording
- VR Headsets
- Professional Organizations
- Medical and Simulation Supplies
- Wearable Simulation Equipment
- Moulage Supplies and Training
- Task Trainers
- Transition into Practice and Healthcare Institutions Orientation and Employee Competency Tracking
- Ultrasound Training
- Specialty Simulators and More!
HealthySimulation.com Webinars and Courses
HealthySimulation.com offers webinars from simulation experts, educators, facilitators, operations specialists, researchers, administrators, and vendors. The live webinars are 1-hour presentations free to the simulation community for the first 24 hours if registered for the event. After 24 hours, the webinars are available by purchasing one webinar at a time or through an annual subscription.
The list of the HealthySimulation.com webinars can be found under the eLearning tab on the website. Then, the webinars can be searched for for free, CE, CME, and vendor. There are more than 350 recorded webinars for the simulation professional. These range from demonstrating products to curricula mapping, and the use of data to support a simulation program. Everyone in simulation should have a working knowledge of these topics. For more intensive learning, HealthySimulation.com offers CE Courses. The courses are asynchronous platform from three to six hours by leading international healthcare simulation experts. The webinars and courses are evaluated by the participants and have 5-star ratings.
All webinars and courses can be searched by discipline, phase, modality, and various levels of the learner, role, and fidelity. This increases the ease of the reader to search for learning opportunities to meet their professional development needs.
Research and Tools in Healthcare Simulation
Following the Standards of Best Practice for Simulation, every aspect of simulation should be evaluated, including the participant, the facilitator, and the simulation. In 2024, HealthySimulation.com became the host of the Evaluating Healthcare Simulation Tools developed by Dr. Kim Leighton with a vast array of simulation evaluation tools, the psychometric testing of the tools, and permission to use the tool. The use of valid and reliable tools is key for the person new to clinical simulation.
Each month a healthcare simulation research update article is published. This article highlights the abstracts of recently published research articles to provide readers with the most up-to-date information to stay informed and conduct quality clinical simulations. Some examples are Healthcare Simulation Research Update June 2024 and August 2024.
Another valuable tool for nursing simulation professionals is the NCSBN Simulation Guidelines and Checklist. This tool was developed based on the results of the NCSBN National Simulation Study (2014). The NCSBN has guidelines for simulation programs and simulation faculty. For those new to simulation, this provides a roadmap of what is required to conduct high-quality simulation for best results, the resources to support the simulation program, following the Standards of Best Practice, and professional development for those involved in simulation.
Healthcare Simulation Community Discussion Boards
Connect with peers from around the world through HealthySimulation.com’s new community discussion groups, which cover different clinical disciplines, professions, regional areas, and vendor technologies. Visit the new community discussion hub, connect with colleagues from around the world, find groups related to your simulation interests or create a new group, and view discussion forums related to your enrolled groups.
Latest Simulation News
HealthySimulation.com is always on the lookout for the latest news in the realm of clinical simulation. The previous website, a summary of the latest simulation news, was published monthly. However, with the new website, as global healthcare simulation news is released, HealthySimulation.com will post about the latest developments on the website. The website will change almost daily with the latest simulation news.
