The International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH) theme is โUnboundโ January 10 – 14, 2026 San Antonio, TX. IMSH 2026 began on January 9, 2026 with pre-conference sessions and activities. The IMSH 2026 Planning Co-Chairs are John E. Alex, MD, CHSE-A, CHSOS-A, RDMS, FACEPT, FAAEM, Amy Follmer, CHOSOS-A, CHSE, FSSH, and Syretta Spears, CHSOS-A, CHSE have established an exceptional opportunity for global simulation communities to collaborate and grow. This HealthySimulation.com article by Carrie Gigray MSHS, CHSE, CHSOS, NRP will highlight the Technology Summit, preconference events, and opening day opportunities.
Background of IMSH
The Society for Simulation in Healthcare, initially called the Society for Medical Simulation, was founded in 2004 and rebranded in 2006 to engage healthcare providers beyond physicians through healthcare simulation. The inaugural International Meeting on Medical Simulation (IMMS) took place in 1995. In 2007, the event was renamed the International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH).
This year marks the 26th anniversary of IMSH. Healthcare simulation continues to grow exponentially, and IMSH 2025 was no exception, with record-breaking attendance exceeding 4,770, making it the largest conference to date. This year, IMSH 2026 is on target to have approximately 4000 attendees and one of the largest exhibit halls in the world, featuring SimVentors, Vendor Learning Labs, and Research Posters.
SSH has been working closely with the Henry B. Gonzรกlez Convention Center (HBGCC) and conference hotel staff to ensure we provide an inclusive, accessible, and safe environment for all attendees.
View the new HealthySimulation.com Community Technology Specialists Group to discuss this topic with your Global Healthcare Simulation peers!
Technology Forum: Unleashing Potential – Removing Barriers to Technology Integration
This year’s IMSH 2026 Technology Forum was held on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Through multidisciplinary collaboration in interactive sessions, over 150 participants discussed barriers to use across modalities and user groups, followed by a corporate roundtable to share a body of knowledge on healthcare simulation technology adoption. The summit aims to produce a report or white paper that summarizes identified barriers, stakeholder perspectives, and recommendations for enhancing technology integration in simulation-based education.
Day 1 included 2 breakout sessions in which participants collectively identified and categorized the most common barriers to healthcare technology adoption. Through facilitated discussions, participants’ first breakout session included modality groups of Standalone Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools, Manikin-based Simulation, XR/AR/MR, Haptics and Wearable Technologies/3D Printing, and Serious Games. The second breakout session included participants by user group including Medicine, Nursing, Health Systems, EMS/Prehospital, and Allied Health with Advanced Practice Providers
Across simulation modalities and health-profession user groups, the dominant barriers are structural and cultural rather than technological. Faculty and stakeholder buy-in remains uneven, driven by resistance to change, psychological safety concerns, and limited preparation to design, facilitate, and debrief technology to enable learning. Scale and capacity issues, including large cohorts, time constraints, and competing clinical demands, strain already limited faculty bandwidth. Fragmented governance, variable accreditation requirements, with variable standards create inconsistency and inhibit interoperability. These challenges are amplified by high costs, rapid technology turnover, data silos, integration failures, and difficulty balancing standardization with customization for diverse learner needs. Collectively, limited outcome data, unclear ROI, and insufficient evidence of impact constrain sustainable adoption across all healthcare simulation settings.
The convergence of emerging modalities and diverse learner populations presents a powerful opportunity to reframe simulation adoption around alignment, scalability, and human-centered design. Faculty development and onboarding can function as core infrastructure, enabling educators to use technology intentionally rather than reactively. Competency-based, repetitive practice models supported by AI to offload low-value tasks and safeguarded can scale effectively without compromising instructional quality. Cross-functional and interprofessional partnerships among simulation, IT, clinical, academic, and industry stakeholders can reduce silos and improve integration. Shared platforms, national or system-level libraries, clearer standards, and improved data collection create pathways to interoperability and evidence in return on investment (ROI). When technology is aligned with learning goals rather than trends, simulation modalities can support sustainable, equitable, and high-impact education across all health professions.
The dialogue continued on Day 2 with a corporate roundtable collaborative panel, designed to share the collective body of knowledge and practical solutions. Industry answered participatncts questions from product market research, user end support and AI integration as a few examples. The panel members included the following vendors:
- Education Management Systems
- Elevate Healthcare
- Medical X
- SimX
- Surgical Science
- Laerdal
- Leader Healthcare
- Lumeto
Other Pre-conference Events
Certification Review Courses: Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) and Certified Healthcare Simulation Operation Specialist (CHSOS) certification prep courses, which included 8 hours of hands-on coursework built on the SSH certification blueprints, designed to help the participant identify gaps and prepare the educator or operator to complete the certification process.
SSH Accreditation Readiness Courses included both half-day and full-day options which guided participants through the accreditation process. The half day focused on core, teaching/education, and human simulation standards as well as fellowship, system integration, research and assessment.
SSH presents: Simulation Grounded Competency-Based Education. This course offered a full-day or half-day option and provided participants with the opportunity to integrate competency-based education principles across the healthcare simulation continuum.
Other events included:
- 3D Printing in Healthcare Simulation: From Introduction to Printing
- Assessing Learning and Performance Using Simulation: An Introductory Workshop
- Burns: What are they and how do we simulate them?
- From Vision ot Reality: Building and Implementing a Successful XR Lab for Healthcare Simulation
- Generative Artificial Intelligence in Action: Designing Real-Time, Emotionally Intelligent Healthcare Simulations with AI-Driven Avatars
- Unbound by Walls: Scalable Simulation Design with Kits, Stories, and Imagination
The Presidentโs Diamond Ball and Cocktail Hour
Collaboration opportunities abound at the Diamond Ball which included a cocktail hour. The black tie optional dinner and dance event which has been named the healthcare simulation prom, celebrated newly certified individuals, accredited programs, and ASCEND members
IMSH 2026 First Day Opportunities
Sunday will begin with a 5K Fun Run, Walk and Roll to support simulations’ physical and mental well-being. Other key collaboration events included SSH committee, section, special interest group (SIG), and affinity group meetings. As well as the opening of the learning labs. IMSH connections included opportunities for first time attendees to be partnered with experienced participants to navigate the conference. The first day finished with the 2nd annual IMSH cornhole tournament to support the SSH fund. SSH offers a group for everyone involved in simulation, providing opportunities to meet and collaborate in person at IMSH.
View the HealthySimulation.com Webinar Ultra-Fidelity Healthcare Simulation to AI-Enhanced Debriefing: The Complete Learning System to learn more!
Exhibit Hall Grand Opening Sunday: IMSH 2026 EXPO
The opening of the Exhibit Hall with over 140 vendors debuts Sunday, January 11, with another sold-out floor. IMSH is proud to host one of the worldโs largest exhibitions for healthcare simulation professionals. An example of vendors present in addition to those who participated in the technology forum include:
- Anatomy Warehouse
- Avkin
- DxR Group
- Education Management Solutions
- Elevate Healthcare
- Elm Park Labs
- Erler Zimmer
- Intelligent Video Solutions
- Laerdal Medical
- Limbs & Things
- MedAffinity
- Medical Shipment
- MEDICFX
- Nasco Healthcare
- Operative Experience
- Paradigm Medical Systems
- PCS.ai
- Pocket Nurse
- Sim2Grow
- Simulab
- SimVS
- SimX VR
- Surgical Science
- TacMed Simulation
- UbiSim
- UPMC WISER
- And many more…
Corporate Roundtable Product & Technology Showcase
New this year at IMSH 2026 SSH members of the corporate roundtable will host live demonstrations on the IMSH Press Box stage. This rapid-fire session will give vendors the opportunity to highlight their latest and greatest technology in 30 mins. Sunday includes:
- University of Miami Gordon Center for Simulation and Innovation in Medical Simulation: ASLS and ESLS: Innovative Stroke Education Programs Leveraging AI-driven Mastery and Adaptive Learning Virtual Simulations
- VR Patients: The VIP in The Room- AI NPCโs in Sim
Learning Labs Showcase New Vendor Technologies
SSH Corporate Roundtable members not only participated in the Technology Summit, 2026 exhibitors will have the opportunity to showcase their products and services to the global healthcare simulation professionals through specific Learning Labs. There are a variety of topics to attend Sunday through Tuesday. The Learning Labs for Sunday include:
Education Management Solutions Presents: Creating a Simulation-Based Signature Assignment to Assess AACN Competencies in one of the four Spheres of Care
Laerdal Medical Presents: Driving Healthcare Improvement Through Translational Simulation and Collaboration
Donโt forget to check out all the HealthySimulation.com articles covering the IMSH 2026 event:
