Instructor Course is International Success

The July 2019 Instructor held in the Simulation Center had an international participant group with two attendees from Ethiopia and one from Saudi Arabia. One US-based attendee traveled to Hershey from Portland, Oregon, for the program. Other attendees came from around the region including Maryland, Virginia, and New York. The next course is November 4-8, 2019. See the registration links at – https://hersheysimulation.psu.edu/simulation-courses/simulation-instructor-course/

American College of Surgeons Reaccreditation

The Clinical Simulation Center was awarded reaccreditation as an Accredited Education Institute by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The reaccreditation means the Center continues to be one of only four simulation programs in the country to hold the three major accreditations (ACS, Society for Simulation in Healthcare, and American Society of Anesthesiologists). The Center received “Best Practice” citations in two areas – Team training as part of a research project on pediatric brain injuries and web site information including a professional development event calendar.

Education Calendar

The Events calendar has been updated with several courses, conferences, and webinars. Be sure to look at upcoming events our Simulation Instructor Course (Nov. 4-8, 2019), MOCA, Journal club webinars, and major conferences.

New Equipment

A new preterm neonatal simulator was delivered thanks to a philanthropic gift to the NICU. Premie Paul is being kept in the NICU to be used for in situ and just-in-time training of NICU physicians and staff. You can see this highly realistic simulator at his web site –http://simcharacters.com/.

Three new Laerdal Medical Resusci Anne simulators have arrived. These replace three older simulators that have been reallocated to less demanding roles in the simulation program. The new names of the simulators are Bella, Charly, and Dory. These replace Bailey, Collette, and Daisy. The new simulators also feature the updated SimPad II control tablet which adds a more stable communications platform for us. Product information can be found at – https://www.laerdal.com/us/item/150-28000

Two new Storz airway devices that work with our existing C-MAC video laryngoscope control head have arrived. The intubating video bronchoscope permits the practice of fiber optic intubation. The lighted video stylet is a new product that enhances intubation accuracy. Product information can be found at – https://www.karlstorz.com/iq/en/anesthesiology-and-emergency-medicine.htm?d=HM

Various task trainers have been updated, including a new TruCorp intubation head. The Center works to keep task trainer inventory up to date and ready for use.

Staffing Changes

We welcome Anne Bonawitz to the Resuscitation Sciences Training Center as our new Administrative Secretary. Anne comes to us from the NICU.

Art in the Simulation Center

The Clinical Simulation Center features artists throughout the year with special displays in the Center. The current artists featured are both  photographers. Spence Reid, MD, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Division Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, has several photographs displayed including a winter pictorial from Yellowstone National Park. Clinical Simulation Center manager David Rodgers has an exhibit of several of his photographs made during travels across several different countries.

2019 Publications from Penn State Simulation Faculty and Staff

So far in 2019, six simulation focused publications in the peer-reviewed literature have featured Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center or Penn State College of Medicine faculty or staff as authors or co-authors.

  • Ambardekar AP, Black S, Singh D, Lockman JL, Simpao AF, Schwartz AJ, Hales RL, Rodgers DL, Gurnaney HG. The impact of simulation-based medical education on resident management of emergencies in pediatric anesthesiology. 2019;29:753–759.
  • Chen HE, Sonntag CC, Pepley DF, Prabhu RS, Han DC, Moore JZ, Miller SR. Looks can be deceiving: Gaze pattern differences between novices and experts during placement of central lines. Am J Surg. 2019; 217 (2): 362-367.
  • Chen HE, Yovanoff MA, Pepley DF, Prabhu RS, Sonntag CC, Han DC, Moore JZ, Miller SR. Evaluating Surgical Resident Needle Insertion Skill Gains in Central Venous Catheterization Training. J Surg Res. 2019 Jan;233:351-359. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2018.07.040.
  • Chen HE, Yovanoff MA, Pepley DF, Sonntag CC, Mirkin KA, Han DC, Moore JZ, Miller SR. Can Haptic Simulators Distinguish Expert Performance? A Case Study in Central Venous Catheterization in Surgical Education. Simul Healthc. 2019;14:35-42
  • Johnston L, Sawyer T, Nishisaki A, Whitfill T, Ades A, French H, Glass K, Dadiz R, Bruno C, Levit O, Gangadharan S, Scherzer D, Moussa A, Auerbach M. Neonatal Intubation Competency Assessment Tool: Development and Validation. Acad Pediatr. 2019; 19(2):157-164.
  • Kumar D, Vachharajani AJ, Wertheimer F, Vergales B, Glass K, Dannaway D, Winter L, Delaney H, Ganster A, Arnold J, Urban A, Johnston L, Bruno C, Gray MM, Sawyer T. Boot camps in neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship programs: A national survey. J Neonatal Perinatal Med. 2019;12(2):231-237.