Congratulations to CMS’ Robert Simon, Ed. D. CHFP on his recent appointment as a Visiting Professor of Medical Education at the International Campus of Excellence, University of Cantarbria in Spain.  In 2009, the University of Cantabria and  several other Spanish educational institutions, with the assistance of the Spanish Government’s Department of Education and Science and Education, collaborated to form an International Campus of Excellence.   Since then, the University and its partners in the Campus of Excellence have been working together to improve training, teaching, research and innovation in a number of identifed strategic areas.  One of these areas is in the International Campus of Biomedicine and Biotechnology and involves the Marques de Valdecilla Virtual Hospital (HVMV), a project developed in collaboration with various American Institutions, including the Center for Medical Simulation (CMS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  This collaboration has evolved into a formal affiliation between CMS and HVMV whereby CMS serves on HVMV’s Board of Directors and advises it on items related to its services, training and research. With the aim of further strengthening the connection between the Center for Medical Simulation in Cambridge and the University of Cantabria, as well as making mobility between lecturers and researchers from both centers easier, The University of Cantabria appointed Robert Simon Visiting Professor of Medical Education at the International Campus of Excellence.

Dr. Simon joined CMS in 2002 as Education Director and now serves as the Director of its Institute for Medical Simulation. He is an Instructor in Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and serves on the faculty of the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Anesthesia, Critical care and Pain Medicine.  Dr. Simon’s background is as a human factors specialist and educator who for the past 25 years has specialized in research, development and training for high-performance, high-stress teams in aviation and medicine.  He worked as principal investigator for the US Army Aircrew Coordination Program, which applies lessons learned from aviation crew resource management to healthcare.

It’s been a very busy week here at CMS where we are holding our IMS 5 1/2 day  Comprehensive Instructor Workshop in Medical Simulation.  Our first instructor workshop was held in 2004 and we’ve updated it extensively through the years. With experiential education being the keystone of simulation, this course is a mix of theory, practice and feedback so that students develop a strong and comprehensive understanding of how to most effectively use simulation within their education programs.  This week we have 20 attendees from all over the United States and Canada and as far away as Saudi Arabia. They represent a wide range of experience, disciplines and specialties, but all share a common goal of become outstanding educational leaders or directors of a current or prospective simulation program.

Tonight the staff and faculty are taking the entire group out to dinner at Henrietta’s table, a well known restaurant in Camridge’s Harvard Square. We include an opening evening cocktail reception and a dinner later in the week in all of our IMS workshops. This gives the faculty, staff and students the opportunity to meet in a more informal setting where they can get to know each other on a more personal level.

Dear Simulation Colleagues:

Please join us on May 10th, Tuesday from 5:30-7  at the Center for Medical Simulation, 65 Landsdowne Street, 1st Floor, Cambridge for a conversation with Marlys Christianson, MD, PhD, University of Totonto, Roman School of Business on using simulation to study and improve diagnostic problem solving. Dr. Christianson will present: “It doesn’t feel right”: How diagnoses are updated through interaction.

Dr. Christianson will talk about the challenges clinicians face in updating and revising their diagnoses in a timely manner in order to prevent or minimize error.  Why is it so hard for clinicians to change their original understanding of a situation, even in the face of mounting evidence that their understanding is mistaken?
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CMS faculty members Robert Simon, Dan Raemer, Jenny Rudolph and Walter Eppich are in Australia to teach the IMS “Simulation As A Teaching Tool” and “Advanced Debriefing”  Workshops to our simulation friends in the land of OZ.  This is our third year conducting workshops in Australia and we never fail to be impressed by the knowledge, enthusiasm and dedication of Simulation Educators in this wonderful country.  CMS has made many friends here and hopes to make these workshops an ongoing event. 

After the Australia workshops, Robert, Dan and Walter will be doing something new this year. Instead of heading home they’ll  travelling further west, or is that east, to Hong Kong where they’ll be conducting the “Simulation As A Teaching Tool” workshop for our friends at the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. 

The dates for the 2011 workshops in Australia and Hong Kong are:

• Melbourne, Australia: February 14-17    Sponsored by Monash University
• Brisbane, Australia: February 21 – 24    Sponsored by the Queensland Skills Development Service
• Sydney, Australia: March 1-4    Sponsored by the Sydney Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre
• Hong Kong, SAR China: March 8 -12    Sponsored by the Hong Kong Hospital Authority

In June, Robert Simon will help teach the ”Simulation As A Teaching Tool” workshop at our IMS/Europe Affiliate, Hospital Virtual Valdecilla in Santander, Spain. The cost for this workshop is only $2,000 Euros and it will be conducted in English. Contact Ignacio delMoral at idelmoral@me.com for more information.

The Center for Medical Simulation is adding three additional simulation instructor courses for 2011 in New York City, USA and Santander, Spain.

IMS – New York

January 4-7, 2011
IMSAL Jacobi Medical CenterBronx, New York
Tuition $4,000.00
For more information, and to register, click here.
Download a brochure on the IMS New York Instructor Course by clicking here.

IMS – Europe

June  6-9, 2011 (Conducted in English)
June 14-17, 2011  (Conducted simulatanteously in Spanish and English)
Hospital Virtual Valdecilla
Santander, Spain
Tuition 2.000 Euros
For more information please email Ignacio del Moral, MD, PhD, Director of the Hospital Virtual Valdecilla at idelmoral@me.com
Download a brochure on the IMS Spain Instructor Course by clicking here.

TUITION: $1,500 per attendee 

Last Friday marked the end of an era at CMS as Jordan Halasz, CMS’ Director of Technology, officially retired after 17 years at CMS and over 30 years within the MGH system. As many of you know, Jordan has been at CMS since it’s beginning. He will truly be missed. However, CMS’ loss is going to be the University of Miami’s gain. Starting in November Jordan will become their Nursing School’s Director of Simulation Services. This is a wonderful opportunity for Jordan. Not only will he have the opportunity to help build a new simulation center, he’ll be able to indulge in his lifelong passion, golf, on a regular basis. Everyone here at CMS wishes Jordan and his wife, Maxine, all the best!  Click on this link to our facebook page at www.facebook.com/medicalsimulation to see pictures of our farewell dinner for Jordan where many of his Boston area simulation friends celebrated Jordan and all he meant to us.

In early September, Dan Raemer PhD, CMS’ Director of Research and Development and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, will spend a week as a visiting professor at the Hunter New England Skills and Simulation Centre in New Lambton, New South Wales Australia. On September 8th, Dan will be lecturing on the challenge of challenging others at ICU Grand Rounds at the  at the RNC Lecture Hall.

 Jeff Cooper, Executive Director of CMS. was recently interviewed  for the  ANZCA Bulletin (Austalian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists). The first installment of  the interview entitled, ”A Life in Patient Safety: A conversation with Professor Jeff Cooper”, appeared in the June 2010 edition of the Bulletin. In this part, Dr. Cooper discusses his background and how he became involved in patient safety.  In the second part, which will appear in the September edition,  Dr. Cooper talks about the achievements in patient safety made so far, and outlines his thoughts on the work that still needs to be done. The interview was conducted by Dr Cate McIntosh, Director of Simulation at the Hunter New England Skills and Simulation Centre, and Consultant Anaesthetist in the Department of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle Australia.

The first installment of the interview appears below:

I recently attended the annual meeting of the Accredited Educational Institutes of the American College of Surgeons (March 12 & 13). A few highlights:

Watch for a publication that should appear soon in Pediatric and Critical Care Medicine describing a study that demonstrates the effectiveness of simulation in improving the outcome of pediatric codes. Well-designed and real outcomes.

The keynote was by the CEO of a company that does the animation for Hollywood movies. He showed how “Benjamin Button” was made. The Brad Pitt character was said to be 90% digital. It’s not a big leap to imagine how we aren’t far from having the tools (more…)