Please take a moment to review all of the candidates prior to casting your ballot. You will find the link to vote below and at the bottom of this page. The deadline to submit your vote is 11:59 PM PDT (US) on April 28, 2023.
Candidates:
Network Chair
Jonathan Duff
Jonathan Duff is currently a pediatric intensivist at the Stollery Children’s Hospital as well as Professor and Associate Chair (Education) in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. He completed his fellowship in PICU at the University of Alberta and has been on staff since 2005. He is currently the director for pediatric simulation for Stollery Children’s Hospital and the Director of Simulation for the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta. He has been involved in the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) and the American Heart Association (AHA) in guideline development and resuscitation education. He has completed a master’s in health science education and is currently enrolled in a PhD in Measurement, Evaluation and Cognition at the University of Alberta.
Mission Statement
I am a pediatric intensivist at the University of Alberta in Canada, Director of Simulation at the University of Alberta, and have been a simulation educator and researcher since 2005. I’ve been a member of the INSPIRE community since its inception and have had a number roles in INSPIRE – serving on the executive board from 2017 to 2021, Co-Chairing an INSPIRE meeting, and am now a member of the advisory group and finance committee. I’ve also been involved in a number of INSPIRE projects through the years including a number of multi-center research studies and position papers. Through all of this, I’ve watched INSPIRE grow from a small collection of passionate simulation enthusiasts to the amazing network of collaborators that it is today. I have met many of my simulation mentors and good friends there and I believe it is a very special network that we have built. I’m excited and honoured to be considered for the role of INSPIRE Co-Chair. I love the collaborative nature of our network and I would love to be able to pay it forward and mentor more junior investigators. I am excited to continue to build our network, develop our infrastructure, and fulfill our mission of improving the lives of children through healthcare simulation.
Priti Jani
Priti Jani MD, MPH is a pediatric critical care physician who takes care of critically ill infants and children in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and Pediatric Sedation service. She completed her medical degree at Rush University College of Medicine and her training in pediatrics and pediatric critical care at The University of Chicago, Comer Children’s Hospital. Dr. Jani’s scholarly focus lies at the intersection of research in simulation-based medical education and resuscitation quality improvement. She develops and investigates simulation-based educational curricula and quality improvement initiatives towards the goal of improving individual, team and system level performance with the goal of translation to improved patient outcomes. A dedicated educator, she utilizes her expertise in simulation to direct and develop curricula for trainees and healthcare teams. Serving as the Chair of the Pediatric CPR Committee and Pediatric Resuscitation Quality Committee as well as the Faculty Director of the UChicago Simulation Center, she is highly invested in using simulation to further advance education, safety and quality at the University of Chicago Medicine and Comer Children’s Hospital.
Mission Statement
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” In the past nine years as an INSPIRE member, I have seen this African proverb exemplified in every facet of the network’s operations. The success of the group is a testament to the power that lies in collaboration, mentorship and generosity. I am applying to be Network Co-Chair to lead a group whose model I deeply admire and to serve INSPIRE’s mission of improving the lives of children through healthcare simulation science. If given the privilege to serve, I would look forward to working with the INSPIRE leadership team towards continued growth of the network with an emphasis on inclusivity of our international community as well as all members of the interprofessional healthcare team. I would strive to increase our cohesiveness while strengthening our infrastructure to foster the professional development of both junior and senior members. Continued focus on the latter will be important towards achieving our ultimate goal of amplifying impactful scholarship, growth within the multiple realms of simulation’s scope in medicine as well as our contributions in innovation. As a pediatric critical care physician at the University of Chicago, Comer Children’s Hospital, I spend my non-clinical time immersed in the utilization of simulation towards improving resuscitation education, quality and outcomes. Additionally, serving as the Faculty Director for the University of Chicago’s Simulation Center, I lead the alignment and integration of simulation across the continuum of education, patient safety and quality to improve the delivery of healthcare. I am the institutional lead for pediatric in-patient simulation, CPR committee chair and director of the Pediatric Advanced Life Support course. In these roles, I have directed multiple simulation-based curricula for nurses and trainees, research projects and institution-wide quality improvement initiatives. I have a special focus on investigating curricula (Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice), resuscitation team preparedness and decision support tools to optimize the retention of resuscitation skills and quality of resuscitative efforts. Along with my institutional leadership, regionally I served as the president of the Chicago Simulation consortium from 2016-2019, supporting multiple disciplines of simulation educators and researchers in program development, sharing of resources and facilitation of research. At the time, the consortium consisted of 59 institutions across the greater Chicagoland area and 228 members across multiple disciplines. During my term as president, I coordinated multiple conferences, including an annual research symposium, worked to improve cohesiveness within the group, fostered research and helped transition our organization into an official 501c3 non-profit entity. Nationally, I have had the great fortune of continued learning and collaborative work via participation in INSPIRE projects such as the CPR leaderboard study, Prevention of Errors in Anaphylaxis in Kids (PEAK) and PEAK II’s development of a latent safety threat database and current bag-valve mask ventilation study. Lastly, I have had the privilege to serve as a member of the executive board and co-chair of INSPIRE’s Scientific Review Committee – dedicated to promoting research reviews and mentorship through the ALERT process at our INSPIRE meetings. My roles in simulation research, education and leadership have provided me with a skill set that co-aligns well with expertise useful for an INSPIRE co-chair. Most important among these is the drive “to go far together.” If I am privileged to have your vote, I commit to ardently serve our mutual interest of working towards fulfilling our mission, continued advancement of the network and fostering the professional growth of our membership.
Board of Directors
Kasey Davis
Kasey Davis is a physician, wife, mother, dog-owner, art aficionado, and Texan with no interesting hobbies or talents. She joined the faculty of Texas Children’s Hospital in 2017 and was named the Associate Medical Director of Simulation for The Woodlands campus under Cara Doughty in 2018. She has enjoyed the camaraderie and mentorship of many INSPIRE leaders over the years going back to her fellowship with Nancy Tofil at UAB and her early career with Chris Kennedy at Children’s Mercy in Kansas City. In addition to simulation, she is passionate about improving communication and team function using the adjacent discipline of applied improvisation and other gamification tools such as escape rooms. She has a collection of strange props including a slinky, giant clown bow, plastic traffic cones, and a stuffed armadillo.
Mission Statement
I would be honored to serve on the INSPIRE Executive Board to further elevate our organization’s depth, visibility, and global impact.
I am a pediatric critical care physician and the Associate Medical Director of Simulation at Texas Children’s Hospital in The Woodlands where I champion simulation-based activities to improve safety and education campus wide. Prior to this appointment, I led simulation activities for the PICU at Children’s Mercy Hospital (2012-2015) and for the pediatric residency program at Batson Children’s Hospital (2015-2017.) Since joining the faculty at TCH in 2017, I have enjoyed ongoing professional development as a simulation educator and joined INSPIRE in 2019. I have most recently served INSPIRE as the meeting co-chair at IPSSW in 2022, Interim Meeting Organizer Chair Fall 2022, and meeting co-chair at IMSH 2023.
My vision for INSPIRE is amplification without depreciation as we grow internally, upward, and outward. Internal: I think it is imperative that we maintain a balance of expertise and novice simulation researchers who are consistently cycling up to mentor the next generation of simulation leaders. Upward: as we nurture fledging projects, we should also dream big and leverage our collective genius to pursue grants for high impact collaborative studies. Outward: we should be welcoming simulation leaders from every corner of the globe in mutually valuable partnerships that will improve pediatric healthcare for ALL children.
Ryan Fredericks
Dr. Ryan Fredericks is a pediatric critical care physician and Medical Director for Pediatric Simulation at Kentucky Children’s Hospital (Lexington, KY, USA). He completed his fellowship in medical simulation from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2021 and has since been focused on developing multidisciplinary simulation-based medical education training for medical response teams, utilizing quality improvement methodologies to optimize clinical workflows and care processes to advance pediatric acute care. He joined INSPIRE in 2019, has been a core committee member of the INSPIRE Novice Simulation Research Committee for the past three years, has been on the committee that developed and is hosting the new INSPIRE Grand Rounds program since 2022, and is currently serving as an INSPIRE Junior Executive Board Member.
Mission Statement
Although I have been heavily immersed in technology and programming since childhood, I still consider myself relatively new to the simulation world. In 2018 during my pediatric critical care fellowship training, my colleague and I taught ourselves how to design and run our own interprofessional simulations both out of a fascination for the technology and due to a paucity of this powerful medical education modality at our institution. I was eventually guided to INSPIRE by 2019, joining my first meeting at IMSH 2020. INSPIRE’s welcoming atmosphere and wonderful members have provided me with many opportunities to network, learn, and grow my simulation research in ways that I want to be able to provide back to other INSPIRE members. Since that first INSPIRE meeting, I’ve joined the INSPIRE Novice Simulation Research Committee as a core member in early 2020 that co-designed/evaluated the INSPIRE Needs Assessment, was nominated as the Medical Director for Pediatric Simulation at Kentucky Children’s Hospital in 2020, completed a fellowship in medical simulation at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2021, am a part of the team developing/coordinating the INSPIRE Grand Rounds program, and have been honored to serve as an INSPIRE Junior Executive Board Member this past year. Influenced by the data from the INSPIRE Needs Assessment completed by members like you, my vision for INSPIRE is to continue to develop ways to enhance INSPIRE’s mentorship and connectivity, creating programs that meet the needs of our members in unique ways at times that are globally-friendly. To that end, I am working with other INSPIRE colleagues to revitalize the INSPIRE website to make it a meaningful venue of helpful information, to develop better ways to keep our community connected, and to be transparent about research and funding opportunities for all. Further, I’ll continue to support and advocate for virtual and hybrid meeting components for our colleagues who are unable to join in-person INSPIRE meetings. My ultimate goal is to continue to support the great projects and venues we already have in place like our Novice Research Committee’s educational and networking sessions while expanding similar and joint opportunities for INSPIRE’s more experienced members, recognizing that members with different levels of simulation research experience have different but important and valued needs.
Pooja Nawathe
Pooja Amar Nawathe, MD, FAAP, FCCM, CHSE-A, CHSOS is a Pediatric Intensivist at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. She is also the Medical Director of Simulation for Pediatrics, Co-chair of the Simulation and Human Factors Research Committee, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and is the immediate past Chair of Pediatrics for the Society of Simulation in Healthcare. In her role as the immediate past chair of Pediatric Section, SSH, she has started a collaborative of the leadership of INSPIRE, IPSS, PediSTARS, AAP Section on Simulation and Innovation and Learning Methods, SSH Pediatric Section leadership to foster collaboration and shared goals recently. Even though in its infancy this collaboration is a huge step to leverage the strengths of these sections/societies/organizations together to further progress field of pediatric simulation. Her interests are insitu interprofessional education and simulation for process improvement and she spearheads the development of the Pediatric Simulation Program at Cedars- Sinai Medical Center along with its affiliates at Marina Del Ray, Huntington, Torrance Memorial Hospital. She has co-chaired a local simulation conference CALSIM at Cedars for the last three years, is faculty in the California Simulation Alliance, leads the Pediatric Fundamental Critical Care Support course and is working with the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) Simulation and Education Committee to further improve the simulation focus in SCCM.
Mission Statement
I am a Pediatric Cardiac Intensivist at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and the Medical Director of Simulation for Department of Pediatrics and the co-chair of the Simulation and Human factors committee at our organization. Professionally my goal is to improve the quality and safety of pediatric care provided through simulation-based education and research in interprofessional teams. I have found this work to be the most rewarding and exciting: collaborating with interprofessional teams on simulation research projects nationally and internationally and specially getting resources for pediatric simulation in a non-free standing children’s hospital where the resources are shared for care of adult patients. I want to continue this work myself and to help other members of interprofessional teams around me find their way to these opportunities sooner for pediatric simulation. I would like to help connect faculty, learners and fellow simulation enthusiasts with research opportunities and mentors both inside and outside their institutions to support and promote their energy and interest to contribute meaningfully to the field. As the immediate past chair of SSH Pediatric Section and being a member of PediSTARS and IPSS, I hope to collaborate with other Pediatric Simulation groups/organizations leveraging the strengths of INSPIRE to progress the field of Pediatric Simulation further. Mentorship is a personal interest of mine and would like to pay it forward as there were some things I could have done differently and INSPIRE provides a great platform for fostering mentorship. My vision and mission for the future of INSPIRE is to continue to foster a culture of mentorship as well as grow our inclusion of international members by breaking down barriers and improving their access. From the conception of an idea of simulation research, developing the research question, presenting the ALERT, to hearing from the giants in the field during ALERT round table, analyzing the data and writing the manuscript, I would like to promote the idea of SWAG (simulation writing accountability groups, something I could use myself). Pediatric Simulation research advancement is a robust mechanism of getting a seat at the table where more research funding could be channelized to our field. Thank you for the consideration and taking the time to read through statement of interest.
Normaliz Rodriguez
Normaliz Rodriguez, MD, FAAP is a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician and Fellowship trained Medical Simulation Specialist. She first started working in Medical Simulation at Weill Cornell Medicine NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital in 2015. While at Weill Cornell Medicine she created the Simulation Discharge Planning Committee and was the Director of the Simulation-Based Discharge Program. In 2017 she won the Partnership Award from the Institute for Patient and Family Centered Care for her collaboration with the Family Advisory Council on the design and implementation of an innovative program to improve tracheostomy care education for patients and their families. Dr. Rodriguez then went on to complete her fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Children’s Minnesota in 2020 where she developed a simulation-based education program for caregivers of gastrostomy dependent children. In 2021 she completed her Medical Simulation Fellowship at John Hopkin’s All Children’s Hospital and stayed on as the Associate Medical Director and the Medical Simulation Fellowship Director at the Center for Medical Simulation and Innovative Education from 2021-2022. In addition, she is their site lead for IMPACTS Outpatient.
Mission Statement
I have been an active member of INSPIRE since 2017. I was the Co-Chair for INSPIRE 2021 and am on the meeting organizing committees of INSPIRE and IPSSW. In addition, I joined the INSPIRE development committee in 2022, which focuses on INSPIRE’s financial sustainability, and am a member of their core grant writing team.
I am also passionate about standardizing formal training for medical simulation and at INSPIRE IMSH 2022 I was appointed to the IPSS-INSPIRE Fellowship Committee. In 2022 I joined the SSH Formal Training Affinity Group and became Chair of the group in 2023. Other areas of interest include minority and bilingual inclusion in simulation research and education. I was appointed to the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Taskforce for SSH in 2022 and am active member of the National Association of Medical Spanish. As a member of the Execute Board I will continue to promote INSPIRE’s vision of collaboration and research. I will work towards decreasing barriers to entry specifically for international members as well as work with the other Execute Board members to develop and implement strategies for the fellowship and INSPIRE’s continued sustainability.
Barbara Walsh
I have been immersed in simulation work for over a decade and completed graduate course work in simulation training and debriefing. I recently transitioned to Director of In Situ and Mobile Outreach Simulation at Boston Medical Center where I am creating innovative, inter-professional in situ programs at community sites. I am adept at designing and implementing novel pilot studies that have led to participation in high level simulation research through the ImPACTS (Improving Pediatric Acute Care Through Simulation) collaborative. This has led to multiple published manuscripts and we continue to use simulation to study gaps in care, systems issues and use as an educational modality. I have created and launched a quality and patient safety initiative – Community Outreach Mobile Education Training (COMET), evaluating general emergency departments in their care of critically ill children using in-situ simulation training. This program, which was started in 2010, aims to bridge gaps in pediatric acute care, evaluates systems issues, and improves teamwork at each site. The aim is to improve care, reduce errors, and ultimately have better outcomes in critically ill patients. COMET aims to work with emergency departments, community health centers and EMS services. I have published this work in Advances In Simulation sharing how to build a program such as this. I have also authored a simulation study in EM Clinics of North American which discusses using simulation for risk management and patient safety in emergency departments.
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I have conducted an in-situ EMS simulation study to evaluate EMS performance in caring for simulated pediatric emergencies as well as to identify latent safety threats during these cases. I have been part of the Pediatric Research in Disaster Education (PRIDE) collaborative for greater than 5 years. This group provides education and training in pediatric disaster triage for prehospital providers. We have studied different triage modalities using simulation as well as created an online serious medical game to improve the disaster triage skills of prehospital providers. Finally, I am part of the INSPIRE network (International Network Simulation-based Pediatric Innovations, Research and Education) which is a collaborative of simulation research experts around the world and has an infrastructure in place with experts in all areas of medical research to lend support for any project. Through this group other collaborative projects have continued to emerge. Currently, we have a multi-site study using simulation to look at graduating senior EM resident’s readiness to care for critically ill pediatric patients as they prepare to become attendings. The initial one-state study was published in Academic Emergency Medicine. Furthermore, I have continued quality and patient safety work through simulation with a current in-hospital grant at BMC evaluating systems issues in inter-departmental patient resuscitations involving OB, EM, PEM and NICU.
Mission Statement
I have been working in simulation since 2006 when UMass Medical School had a tiny, one room, simulation center with few high and low fidelity mannikins. It was there that my passion developed in creating curriculum and using simulation to educate and train our residents. Over time it evolved into a combination of using simulation with medical trainees, higher level practitioners and interprofessional groups for both education and research. To really hone my skills, I was encouraged by the Dean of the Medical School, who valued and recognized the power of simulation, and took a faculty development course in simulation training, a 2-day course by Laerdal and finally matriculated to the Center for Medical Simulation in the early 2010s to become as skilled and expert as I could be with simulation training, curriculum design, and debriefing. The quality of work and training shaped much of what I do today. One of the limitations that I had at UMass was the paucity of simulation specialists at my institution with whom I could share work, ideas, collaborate on projects, carry out research and further my academic niche. I had no mentors. It was challenging. Then I joined SSH which led me to IPSSW and INSPIRE. It was eye opening and incredible. I was finally among colleagues who were experienced, expert and as passionate about simulation as I was. There were tremendous leaders and potential mentors and now an ability for me to actually grow my career in a significant way. I was intimidated at first and then realized this was an amazingly talented group of interprofessional health care providers who actually wanted to join forces and use simulation for multiple purposes in terms of research and education, specifically around the care of children. Through joining IPSSW and INSPIRE in particular, I was able to help found ImPACTS and carry out meaningful and important research. This led to other networking and projects with diverse colleagues around the US and the global community. The past two years I have been involved in international work with the distance simulation summit and have continued to develop and expand my simulation outreach program, COMET – community outreach mobile education training, that I have been doing since 2010. Vision for INSPIRE INSPIRE has shaped my personal and professional life. It has opened my academic world up to amazing research opportunities, academic discussions, robust contemplation of issues in the simulation world, and topics of importance in research regarding pediatric emergency care using simulation. It has also afforded me some truly remarkable friendships and experiences. While INSPIRE has continued to increase its numbers, and is growing since its inception in leaps and bounds, it still has the feel of a small community of like-minded simulation experts and novices. One of the most noteworthy features of INSPIRE is its inclusivity and openness to all-comers. It continues to promote a message of encouraging new simulation practitioners – fellows, nurses, residents, and other inter-professionals to contribute to its mission. I have colleagues in other disciplines such as EM and OB/GYN and there are no analogous collegiate entities that are this productive, inclusive and collaborative. INSPIRE embodies something special that resonates with me. My vision as an INSPIRE leader would be to continue its global mission: grow the consortium, encourage and groom young investigators to engage in novel projects, provide senior mentorship and to continue to strive to answer the most important research questions in pediatric care. Any new field in medicine is always in evolution. One ongoing goal would be flexibility and adaptability as we venture into new fields that overlap with simulation, for instance the ever growing and expanding field of serious medical gaming, virtual reality and tele/distance simulation. We have had many intriguing and novel projects in this arena and there will be many more to come. I feel that INSPIRE, under my potential guidance, will continue to be a leader in the simulation world, pushing the boundaries, exploring new ideas and concepts, setting a collegiate example for other societies. The group will always encourage a sense of purpose, working together, moving the agenda forward for all ideas and research topics. The ultimate goal will continue to be high quality, diverse, projects whether research, educational, curricula, or global initiatives. Experience as it relates to candidacy for Executive board I have the energy, drive, dedication, and experience to embark on this new journey as an executive on the INSPIRE board. I persevere under all circumstances and never, ever give up. I have had a vision for my COMET program since its birth in 2010. Now it has grown to encompass many areas of medicine that are not just pediatric simulation (adult EM, OB/NRP, Airway). I have done novel research as a PI, as a senior mentor and as a collaborator among many larger groups, including international collaboration. I now embark on my third year with the International Distance Simulation Summit working group and am the Co-Chair for the program development for this year’s event. This past year I was Co-Chair of the INSPIRE meeting at IMSH 2023 where we had amazing alert presentations and a remarkable review of our mission looking forward at success and using reverse KJ Merlin exercise and 3-5-6 exercise with results to come. As an executive board member, I will bring my 15 plus years of experience in the simulation world to the INSPIRE group. I have learned over time that the most productive means is collaboration and inclusion. I will work effortlessly in my passion to make INSPIRE continue to be the most productive entity in global pediatric simulation research, education, programming and innovation. I will continue to rely on the greater network, the former senior executive participants and newer members to keep the vision and mission fresh and relevant. I am a person who works well with others and always wants to evolve for the greater good. As an executive leader, I will spearhead INSPIRE to the next level in the medical simulation world.
Bram Welch-Horan
Bram Welch-Horan (@DrBramPedsER; [email protected]) is Director of Simulation for the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. He is an attending physician in the Emergency Center at Texas Children’s Hospital, where his clinical and teaching activities bridge all three hospital campuses. After attending medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York, he completed a residency in pediatrics at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and subsequently a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Texas Children’s. His interests include deliberate practice as a foundation for expertise, team-based simulation for teaching resuscitation, and clinical event debriefing as a driver of quality improvement and education. Since 2020, he has been the physician lead and co-creator of the hospital-wide clinical debriefing initiative at Texas Children’s; he is also involved with other efforts relating to improving resuscitation, training of simulation instructors, and use of simulation for onboarding of clinical faculty. His long-term interests relate to building better systems for feedback and cross-talk between simulation, clinical event debriefing, and other education and quality improvement efforts.
Mission Statement
I have been involved with INSPIRE since 2015, and the networking, mentorship, and colleague relationships I have experienced in this organization have played a crucial role in development as an educator, scholar, and leader in simulation and clinical event debriefing. It has been my privilege to serve on the INSPIRE Executive Board since 2021, and to chair our social media committee. With your support, I would be honored to serve another term. In the coming months and years, I hope to continue our series of Tweets regarding current research updates and accomplishments, classic papers from earlier in INSPIRE’s history, and new opportunities for innovation and collaboration
Hilary Woodward
Hilary Woodward, MS, CCLS is a child life specialist in the Pediatric Emergency Department at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, USA. She is an adjunct faculty member at Bank Street College of Education as well as founder and director of the child life program at BASE Camp, a simulation-based course in pediatric emergency medicine for physicians, nurses, and child life specialists (pembasecamp.org). Hilary has served as a subject matter expert and item writer for the Child Life Certification Commission, and she is a past chair of the Association of Child Life Professionals’ Mentorship Committee and Pre-Internship Work Group. In 2021, Hilary was elected to the Executive Board of INSPIRE, and she is the first psychosocial professional to serve in this role. Hilary’s areas of focus in simulation include diversity, equity, and inclusion, interprofessional education, and the incorporation of simulation in foundational and continuing education for child life professionals. She is the chapter author of “Simulation” in the textbook The Role of Child Life Specialists in Community Settings (IGI Global, 2023), and she has published and presented additional work locally, nationally, and internationally.
Mission Statement
As a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS), I am passionate about using simulation to improve emotional safety and pediatric patient- and family-centered care while breaking down silos (particularly between medical and psychosocial professionals) and educating prospective and current CCLS. I currently hold leadership roles in interprofessional simulation programs in pediatric emergency medicine, and I have been a member of INSPIRE’s Executive Board since 2021. I am running for a second term on the Executive Board because I think interprofessional representation is vital within INSPIRE. At the INSPIRE meeting at IMSH in January 2023, we began a brainstorming process to support the network’s upcoming strategic planning. I was struck by how frequently our members shared a desire for more interprofessional involvement within INSPIRE, yet I was one of the only attendees in the room who is not a physician. I see great potential for INSPIRE to increase the diversity of its members, but in order to include members from different professions effectively, we need to identify and address barriers and include a range of perspectives on the Board. As a CCLS, my path in simulation has been unique, and I want to continue to share what I’ve learned to support professionals from all backgrounds in growing their skills as innovative pediatric simulation researchers and active members of INSPIRE.
Junior Director
Rachel Elkin
Rachel is a simulation fellow and pediatric emergency medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. Locally, she co-developed, with colleagues in nursing, an interdisciplinary in situ simulation program for providers who care for children in the Emergency Department. She also is actively involved in the Youth in Science Interactive Healthcare Simulation (YSIMS) program, which provides exposure to careers in STEM – including through simulation experiences – to youth in communities throughout the Boston area. With INSPIRE, Rachel serves on the Scientific Review Committee and Meeting Organizing Committee, and most recently co-chaired the INSPIRE meeting at IMSH 2023. Her academic interests center around how novel technologies and instructional designs, particularly within simulation, impact educational, psychometric, and clinical outcomes. Previous and ongoing work have focused on the real time measurement of cognitive load during simulation activities, as well as a number of distance simulation-focused projects.
Mission Statement
Though I did not realize it at the time, INSPIRE played a major role in “inspiring” my interest in simulation as a resident, when I first participated in the CPR coach study. Since then, INSPIRE has continued to play a formative role in shaping my development as a simulationist, educator, and researcher. I am so grateful to be part of this supportive and energizing community. As a member of the Junior Executive Board, it would be my privilege to “pay it forward” by helping our membership – particularly those new to INSPIRE or early in their simulation journeys – forge meaningful connections, find their niche within this supportive community, and find opportunities for educational or academic collaboration. For example, for those brand new to INSPIRE, a “personal touch” follow up email after the first event or meeting they attend could serve as an individualized touchpoint to welcome them into INSPIRE, and help them get connected and involved in ways that align with their goals and interests. More broadly, reflecting on recent conversations around this topic at INSPIRE @ IMSH, how can INSPIRE continue to remain a “value-add” for simulationists across the spectrum of expertise? Perhaps an approach similar to that taken by the the novice group (leveraging the results of a needs assessment to inform dedicated programming and resources) could be translated to help meet the unique needs of more experienced members. I would love to work with members of the board to offer experiences, opportunities, and resources to help provide INSPIRE members at all career stages with the tools they need to thrive.