Calling all simulation educators …. Vic Brazil and Sandra Viggers live from San Diego.

The International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH) #IMSH2016 was held in San Diego last week. The conference was a fabulous opportunity for clinicians and educators to see the latest in simulation technology, debriefing, patient safety and educational applications of simulation. There were nearly 3000 attendees this year from every health profession (there is a chaplain doing a simulation Fellowship in one of the New York programs), military, government, human factors, and industry and from many countries around the world. It’s the annual of meeting of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, whose website and journal (unfortunately not FOAMed) are useful resources for simulation educators.

We’ve put together a short podcast on what we saw and experienced here.

The format is innovative, with a combination of inspiring keynotes – including from Everest mountaineer Alison Levine (@Levine_Alison), and NASA simulation specialist Kim Binsted (@Kbinsted) – and workshop style breakouts.

Industry is BIG here – the Exhibition Hall is like Disneyland for sim/ technology educator geeks. Lots on virtual reality and augmented reality this year, for surgical, procedural and communication skills training. The CUT suit was a highlight – a wearable part task trainer for trauma.

We found the social media aspects of the conference surprisingly modest, given the technology focus of the event, and think opportunities exist for more connection between the simulation and FOAMed communities.

It’s a conference for clinicians and educators who use sim to consider attending – the intensity of experience across the gamut of simulation education is unique, and opportunities to network and learn are many. IMSH2017 is in Orlando Florida.

Vic (@socraticEM) and Sandra (@starskaterdk).