BTC Faculty Attend ’24 Sim Conference for Global Collaboration

    Earlier this year, four faculty from Bolivar Technical College (BTC) embarked on an enriching journey to the International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH) in San Diego, California, thanks to a generous grant from the Missouri State Board of Nursing. 

Keynotes, Breakouts, and Beyond: BTC’s Journey into Cutting-Edge Simulation Practices at IMSH  

    Every year, the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSiH) hosts the three-day IMSH conference, bringing together simulation champions from around the world to delve into the latest innovations in healthcare simulation. Dedicated to research and learning, IMSH offers a platform for networking, expert insights, and hands-on experiences, which made it the perfect environment for our faculty to develop their craft. 

    The BTC team, led by Lucinda Schmidt, BTC Simulation and Skills Center Coordinator, and Erin Mock, Director of Nursing Education, seized this opportunity to connect with peers globally. “We wanted to see how other people do simulation,” Lucinda Schmidt explained, highlighting the diverse international representation at the conference including Dubai, South America and even Australia. 

    During the three-day conference, military personnel, veterinarians, dental professionals, and representatives from all segments of healthcare converged to share insights and best practices. Each day began with an inspiring keynote speaker before individuals chose from a plethora of breakout sessions. A few of the BTC team’s favorite breakout sessions included: Delivering Effective Simulation to the Next Generation, Using Simulation as a Steppingstone Toward Practice Readiness, Let’s Make a Sim, and Revolutionizing Education: Harnessing the Power of Immersive Virtual Reality through Curriculum Integration.  

The conference’s keynote speakers, including Kendra Hall and Duncan Wardle, left the BTC team feeling encouraged and empowered. Duncan Wardle, former Disney Head of Innovation and Creativity, challenged attendees to unleash their inner innovation and think outside the box. He led the audience through interactive exercises in how they can promote ideas and creativity or crush them. The BTC team enjoyed his message on promoting new ideas and not creating excuses for those new ideas.

    The Closing Plenary speaker, Kim Becking, a local Kansas City resident, inspired the audience on how to overcome resistance and embrace change, a key takeaway for BTC faculty who are used to inspiring these actions in their students. Becking urged a reframing of students’ thinking in simulation, emphasizing resilience and a positive mindset shift from fear of failure.  

Exploring the Future: BTC Team Gains Insights into technology at IMSH Expo 

    Between keynote speakers and breakout sessions, participants could visit the expo center at IMSH, which showcased a wide array of innovative simulation technologies. Check out this video to take a peek into what they saw. The BTC team was particularly impressed with more cost-effective technology available, like the IV arms controlled by software on tablets. The workshops and demonstrations in the expo center added to the team’s wish list for simulation technology that saves both work and resources for the college in the long run. The team learned more about Virtual Reality (VR) use in simulation that they can begin implementing with equipment purchased by a MSBN grant in 2023 [Read about that grant we received here]. They were also excited to dive deeper into Artificial Intelligence platforms that can be used in the college’s high fidelity AI mannequins, ALEX.  

    The expo center booths also allowed the BTC team to engage with current partners like Vault, Elsevier, and ATI, providing feedback from their personal experiences and learning about upcoming initiatives from their partners. Mrs. Mock was excited about the new patients available for online RN to BSN students to explore in their virtual clinical experience with Elsevier.  

Gearing Up to Elevate Simulation to New Heights After IMSH  

    Kim Leith, Simulation and Skills Center Assistant Coordinator at BTC, expressed that the conference validated our college’s simulation practices, ensuring we follow the best standards for creating a safe environment for our students and emphasizing the importance of debriefing capabilities. “It also served as encouragement to continue growing and take our simulation to the next level,” Mrs. Leith stated. The conference heavily promoted psychological safety of students in simulation, emphasizing they can practice skills in a safe environment and faculty must allow them to fail to learn, but emphasize the importance of practicing how you will perform.  

    Sarah Colby, BTC Faculty, praised the conference’s ability to bring everything together into an intensive crash course on simulation. Newer to the simulation world, Mrs. Colby gained valuable insights from the different breakout sessions and diverse perspectives shared by healthcare participants. 

    Returning home inspired, the BTC team has been collaborating on their individual takeaways and developing a plan to roll out their ideas. Their timeline is currently set to launch new ideas and strategies at the 2024 “Summer of Simulation Celebration”. Mrs. Schmidt said, “We can’t wait for students to be immersed in this event. It will incorporate our insights gained from the conference and further enhance their experiences in our Simulation and Skills Center.”