The School of Nursing celebrated its first cohort to complete the online Healthcare Simulation Certificate program. The nine credit post-baccalaureate program was designed for educators and simulation operations personnel to learn about the best practices in simulation education. The cohort consisted of eight students from around the United States.
The eight students began the program last fall by taking the simulation methods course taught by Rosemary Macy and Kelley Connor, associate professors for the School of Nursing. Then, in the spring, the students took the simulation operations course taught by the certificate facilitator, Janet Willhaus, assistant professor for the School of Nursing. In June, all eight students came to campus for a three-day simulation workshop as part of their summer simulation practicum course. Students participated in designing, facilitating, and debriefing simulation scenarios while sharing ideas about moulage, mobile simulations, and emerging simulation technologies.
After completing the three required courses, the students received their graduate certificate and several intend to take the Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) or the Simulation Operations Specialist (CHSOS) Certification.
With the increased integration of simulation into the education and training of health care professionals, the simulation graduate certificate program continues to grow. This fall, a cohort of seventeen new students start classes and applications are being accepted for a third cohort to begin in the spring semester.
Macy and Connor, simulation practicum course instructors, are pictured below with cohort students after a hands-on demonstration on how to create burns and bruises for use in simulation scenarios that use standardized patients.
