Since my graduation from Washington State University, I have focused the majority of my time on learning about the simulation industry. In the summer of 2019, I took a tour of the simulation center for the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, where I was introduced to the various types of simulations. The director of the sim center, Dr. Benjamin Berg gave me the opportunity to interact with the manikins and observe the software in action. This really inspired me to begin my journey as a sim specialist and I hope to return in the near future.
Simulation demo at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine
To better prepare myself for the sim specialist career, I decided to take courses to learn everything I could before entering the workforce. In August of 2020, I became an official member of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and began utilizing many resources from the SimOps Delivers program and IMSH from previous years. Most recently, I have been attending workshops through IMSH 2021 and SimOps Delivers. By learning about a variety of topics, not just technology, I feel much more confident with the process of simulation and have walked away with a much greater appreciation for the amount of preparation and organization that goes into creating these simulations.
Along with the classes I have taken, I have also had the chance to "meet" dozens of leaders in the healthcare simulation industry. Each of them have inspired me with their unique stories in simulation and I am so excited to begin my own sim journey.
In September 2021, I began working part time at the simulation center at Chaminade University of Honolulu School of Nursing. Stay tuned for my simulation portfolio, where I will be documenting my journey as a sim specialist!