Simulation Canada (formerly known as SIM-one and the Canadian Network for Simulation in Healthcare) is Canada’s interprofessional, cross-sector network for the advancement of healthcare simulation. SIM-one and the Canadian Network for Simulation in Healthcare completed their integration in September 2017 to establish Simulation Canada, a new, interprofessional simulation network. Since then, the nonprofit organization has served to connect clinical simulation community members, facilities, and resources across Canada and beyond. Simulation Canada advocates for and advances medical education through healthcare simulations to benefit patient safety and care. This HealthySimulation.com article highlights the benefits of membership in Simulation Canada, along with the contributions to advance healthcare simulation.
Simulation Canada History
In July 2016, SIM-one launched membership programs, which officially shifted from a government-funded to a member-based organization. Two months later, SIM-one and CNSH began the integration process. By September 2017, members voted to finalize the integration of SIM-one and the Canadian Network for Simulation in Healthcare. This formed a new, integrated, interprofessional simulation network for Canada. In August 2018, this network broke ground and offered the first course available entirely in French.
One year after SIM-one and the Canadian Network for Simulation in Healthcare were integrated in September 2017, members unanimously voted to change the organization’s name to “Simulation Canada.” The name change was designed to reflect the renewed scope, energy, and vision of the integrated network. The Simulation Canada faculty members within this network are national and world leaders in healthcare simulation research and practice. They come from a variety of professional backgrounds that includes medicine, nursing, EMS, respiratory therapy, theater arts, and more.
Mission and Vision
Simulation Canada’s vision is a world where exceptional patient care and outcomes through healthcare simulation are universal. Therefore, the organization’s mission is to improve healthcare education, patient safety, and quality improvements through the connection of all healthcare and human service professions, disciplines, and care delivery sectors. This has led Simulation Canada to establish six values that guide them: disruption, respect, best practices, community, collaboration, and transparency.
Interprofessional Networking and Collaboration
Simulation Canada is an inclusive, interprofessional network that represents all healthcare professions and disciplines, as well as various sectors, that includes colleges and universities, hospitals, government offices, and industries. The organization includes human services, such as security, firefighting, social work, early childhood education, developmental service work and more. With a dedicated community of more than 4,000 individuals and 200 institutions, Simulation Canada promotes involvement in all levels of healthcare simulation.
Annual Simulation Canada Conferences
The annual SIM Expo is Simulation Canada’s flagship conference, a multidisciplinary and interprofessional healthcare simulation conference. The SIM Expo is Canada’s premier gathering of simulation enthusiasts. SIM Expo offers a unique, annual opportunity for leaders in healthcare simulation to come together, collaborate on current simulation issues, share knowledge, and advance the field of simulation. Simulation Canada’s annual clinical simulation exposition celebrates the creativity, dedication and accomplishments of Canada’s healthcare simulation community.
Timothy Willett, MD MMEd, President and CEO at Simulation Canada, has shared that, “Each year, the SIM Expo brings together healthcare leaders in university, college, hospital, emergency services, and community care sectors. Our participants are deans, administrators, educators, clinicians, SIM center managers and directors, and researchers from all health professions. Most participants are Canadian but it is an open conference and each year we are honored to host some international participants.”
The Keystones of Healthcare Simulation Course
The Keystones of Healthcare Simulation is a certificate program offered by Simulation Canada, designed for learners interested in a more immersive experience in healthcare simulation. The Keystones program supports participants to develop their careers in healthcare simulation. Some of these roles include: educators, leaders, scholars and those involved in faculty development. The Keystones experience is foundational to network and collaboration in the clinical simulation industry. Connections made in the Keystones program will assist to nurture and further develop practice within the healthcare simulation community. Simulation Canada offers the Simulation Educator Certificate – the Keystones Apex program of certificate programs. The certificate modules include:
- Essentials of Simulation
- Scenario Writing
- Simulation Modalities
- Briefing, Debriefing, and Facilitating Simulations
- Adjunct Topics
- Final Component: Completion of a personal reflection paper
Participants will gain practical application of healthcare simulation. At the end of the program, participants will be able to:
- Integrate simulations into an educational program
- Select a simulation modality to best meet particular learning objectives
- Detail considerations when selecting, creating or adapting a scenario
- Brief and debrief simulation participants
- Advocate for the proven value of simulation
Virtual SIMs (formerly Virtu-WIL) and SIM Scenario Exchange
Colleges and Institutes of Canada (CICan) in collaboration with Simulation Canada and the Government of Canada, provides over 200 virtual healthcare simulations to healthcare educators across Canada. These healthcare virtual simulations are free for Canadian educators and students with many globally accessible. These virtual simulations are designed for students in various healthcare fields:
- Nursing
- Medical Laboratory Sciences
- Sonography
- Paramedics
- Respiratory Therapy
Simulation Canada Marketplace and Directory
There is also a SIM Marketplace available to buy and sell on gently-used clinical simulation equipment, the SIM Product Directory and more on their website. The SIM Marketplace is a virtual platform for healthcare simulation staff and departments to buy, sell, rent, and share healthcare simulation products. This is a wonderful concept to assist in sustainability of healthcare simulation products and also increases opportunity to share resources across organizations across the world.
Simulation Canada has a SIM Company Directory which is a global list of healthcare simulation-based companies on their website. Simulation Canada’s Company Directory includes the profiles of small and large healthcare simulation companies and clinical simulation products and services available. SIM Journals is a segment of the Simulation Canada website which gives users the ability to search for academic journals that cover healthcare simulation. The journals listed are all published papers related to healthcare simulation.
