Margaret Wood Center for Simulation and Education hosts ‘Introductory Simulation Instructor Course’

Congratulations to our 21 participants in the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) Introductory Simulation Instructor Course!

The day-long course was the first of its kind created to meet the increasing need for trained facilitators of simulation-based education across the institution.

Medical Director of the Margaret Wood Center for Simulation and Education, Dr. Allison Lee drove the initiative. She explained that there are limited options available to CUIMC healthcare educators who are interested in gaining hands-on experience in facilitating simulation training. “There is a lot of demand from various services and departments within CUIMC to incorporate simulation training into their curricula but there are not a lot of places that offer such training within the Metro area,” explained Dr. Lee. “It is either very costly or otherwise inconvenient to access, so this is the start of what we anticipate will become regularly offered training.”

The unique program was a joint venture of the Margaret Wood Center for Simulation and Education, the Helene Fuld Simulation Center-Columbia School of Nursing and the Mary and Michael Jaharis Simulation Center. 

Alongside Dr. Lee, the day long course was co-led by Kellie Bryant, Director of the Simulation Center at Columbia School of Nursing, and Dr. David Kessler, Associate Director of the Jaharis Simulation Center.

The course saw enthusiastic participation from a multi-professional audience from anesthesiology, surgery, emergency medicine, perioperative nursing and labor and delivery nursing services, all with a common interest in developing simulation-based education training across CUIMC.

Dr. Lee said she foresees continued collaboration among the institution’s simulation centers, and anticipates offering more introductory training workshops and developing advanced debriefing courses for the future.