Dear Colleagues,

Last week’s in situ sim, concluded the simulation sessions for the season. It has certainly been a busy season for all those involved, delivering simulation sessions to our department and beyond. I would personally like to thank all the debriefers and facilitators for all the hard efforts and continued support in making this program work. Without them the educational value would be lost and the Sim program would die.

I would also like to make special thanks to all the participants (Physicians, Nurses, LPNs, RTs, PSWs and Pharmacists). The “buy-in” that you display really helps us get the most out of each session.
There have been difficult times where by the ED has been especially busy, however the sessions have continued. This may initially seem a little odd in that if the department is busy, should we not pool resources to help?….However this is the ideal time to test our resource planning and crisis resource management. We don’t want to find out about resource problems when there are real patients that we can’t handle. We are better off learning that from a simulation. This has been displayed on several occasions and well done to those who have continued to participate.

The focus of in situ simulation is not only clinical, but also resource structure and teamwork.

We will pick up the new season in September 2014. We will be hoping to get more participation from the whole team so that everyone has the chance to participate and benefit. It is important to emphasise that the aim of these Simulations is not the individual, but the team, so don’t be afraid about stepping up.

The Simulation program continues to grow and we as a department will find that we are more and more in demand from other departments to deliver Sims to them.
With that said, we are always looking for more people to help us and participate. So if you are interested please let me know.

Once again my sincerest thanks to all of you. Have a great Summer,

Jay Mekwan