Sim News Brief Newsletter of the ECU Brody School of Medicine Interprofessional Clinical Simulation Program

Summer 2025

Brody M4 students and College of Nursing students train together as part of the Transition to M4 program.

Announcements

The Simulation Center will be closed on July 4th in observance of Independence Day.

We welcome Dynita Haislip and Jennifer Felts to the Clinical Simulation Center Team. They are both joining us in interprofessional educator roles.

Dynita Haislip, PNP, Interprofessional Nurse Educator.
Jennifer Felts, RN, BSN, CEN, EMT-P, Interprofessional Health Educator.

We welcome Devika Ghosh and Maya Parker, rising M2 students, who will be spending eight weeks in the Simulation Center as part of the Medical Education Track summer immersion program.

Maya Parker and Devika Ghosh, Brody M2 Students.

Welcome new students, residents, fellows, faculty, and staff! If you are interested in learning more about the Interprofessional Clinical Simulation Program, please visit our website, email csc@ecu.edu, or stop by BSOM 1L-09 to meet us.

Congratulations Brody graduates! Best wishes as you begin your residencies!

Photo right: Hunter Venters, MSN, FNP-BC, CFRN, demonstrates an intubation technique to EastCare personnel.

BSOM students who matched into surgery residency practice sterile draping with Dr. Courtney Harris, ECU Department of Surgery, during the Transition to Residency Course

Simulation Stars

Dr. Naira Goukasian, ECU Emergency Medicine, taught M4 EM Clerkship, EM Transitions to Residency boot camp, M2 Clinical Applications, and EM conference.

Dr. Naira Goukasian, Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, teaches airway management to M4 Emergency Medicine clerkship students.

Dr. Jennifer Stahl, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, led a state-wide ultrasound workshop for Critical Care Fellows. This program reinforced the fact that ECU is a leading program in ultrasound education. Dr. Stahl also excels in the gamification of simulation sessions, such as a skills relay race and escape room.

Dr. Jennifer Stahl and Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Fellows after engaging in a clinical skills-based relay race.

Dr. Fabian Wayar is leading the development of a Point-of-Care Ultrasound Program for the combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency.

Dr. Fabian Wayar, MedPeds, assists a resident on a virtual ultrasound simulator.

Congratulations to Dr. Jennifer Bennett for passing the Society for Simulation in Healthcare Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator exam!

Kristie Hertel, ACNP, Clinical Assistant Professor, led the first 3-day skills intensive for the newly established Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program at the ECU College of Nursing.

Dr. Kristie Hertel, Director of the College of Nursing's adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner concentration.

Dr. Misty Kosydar, ECU Emergency Medicine Resident, completed a 2-week simulation elective this spring. As part of the elective, she learned how to develop a simulation activity, practiced clinical skills, and taught BSOM clerkship simulation activities (photo right).

Dr. Drew Honaker, Associate Professor, instructing M3 Surgery clerkship students in laparoscopic skills.

Program Activity

The annual Transition to M4 course brought medical students and ECU College of Nursing students together in scenarios emphasizing interprofessional teamwork and communication.

Brody M4 students prepared for their residencies by participating in boot camps specific to their fields. Simulation Center faculty and staff worked with each track leader to create skills sessions and scenarios specific to OBGYN, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, and Pediatrics.

Dave Schiller, Operations Manager, demonstrates how to perform a needle decompression on a new task trainer to Summer MET students and Simulation staff.

The ECU Physician Assistant program continues to train their students at the Simulation Center in ultrasound, Foley placement, GI, and neuro skills.

NICU/PICU utilized the Simulation Center for their continuing education course to orient new residents and advanced practice providers (APPs) to procedural standards and expectations within the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

The Clinical Applications sessions began in May for Brody M2 students. This course incorporates pharmacology and clinical faculty emphasizing curricular content and reinforcing these concepts in an applied setting.

Brody M2 Students assess a manikin during Clinical Applications.

The Emergency Medicine/Internal Medicine residency used simulation resources to formally assess residents on their ability to perform cricothyrotomies, Blakemore tube procedures, transvenous pacing (TVP), and umbilical catheterization skills.

Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellows continue to practice their skills at the Simulation Center in epistaxis, Blakemore, transvenous pacing (TVP), lumbar puncture, and ultrasound.

PCCM Fellows from throughout the state attending the first annual North Carolina PCCM Fellowship POCUS Course in April.

ECU College of Nursing held a three-day skills intensive for Acute Care Nurse Practitioner students. Students practiced central lines, ultrasound exams, a-lines, chest tubes, thoracentesis, suturing, and more.

Kristie Hertel, ACNP, Clinical Assistant Professor, demonstrates arterial line (A-Line) placement to acute care nurse practitioner students.

ECU Health EastCare continues to train their team using high-fidelity scenarios, a 3-day airway management course, and formal performance assessments using simulation modalities.

Surgery residents utilized the Simulation Center to practice skills in cricothyrotomy and tracheotomy.

The combined Internal Medicine-Psychiatry Residency residents participated in scenarios with a standardized patient who portrayed a combative and argumentative patient in the emergency department.

Dr. Peter O'Rourke, Anesthesiology, teaching airway management skills to a Trauma Nurse Practitioner, Critical Care Fellow, and Summer MET students.

Weekly interprofessional case scenarios continue with ECU Internal Medicine Residents, Pitt Community College (PCC) Nursing Students, PCC Respiratory Therapy Students, and ECU College of Nursing students.

Photo Right: M3 OBGYN students practice measuring cervical effacement during their transition to residency boot camp.

Jordan Griffin, PA-C, demonstrates ultrasound procedures for Physician Assistant students.

Expanding the Field

The Healthcare Simulation Unit (HSU) was invited to the NC Legislature in Raleigh to promote the mission of providing rural health outreach.

The Healthcare Simulation Unit at the NC legislative building in Raleigh, NC.

The partnership between BSOM Simulation and ECU Health Pediatric Trauma continues to provide education to rural providers. This spring, the Healthcare Simulation Unit went to Washington Regional Hospital for pediatric trauma simulation training with interprofessional hospital personnel.

Ashley Jensen, DNP candidate, gave a poster presentation of the project she completed in the Simulation Center over the past year: Evaluating Student Perceptions of Nurse Interprofessional Educator Lead Simulation Sessions for Medical Students and Medical Residents. She is currently working on a manuscript submission to the Journal of Interprofessional Care.

Emergency Medicine Residents Drs. Bopp, Daly, Burhenn, and Haikal, presented their proposed study at BSOM Medical Education Day: Central Venous Catheter (CVC) Procedural Skills: Barriers to Meeting ACGME Defined Key Index Procedure Minimums and the use of IPE in Training and Skill Retention

Drs. Suzanne Daly and Thomas Bopp, Emergency Medicine, give their presentation for MedEd Day.

Hunter Geneau, BSOM M2, presented his project at Medical Education Day: The Utility of a Simulation Auscultation and Ultrasound Module for the Identification of Heart Murmurs: A Supplementation to the Cardiovascular Curriculum.

Hunter Geneau, BSOM M2, gives his presentation for MedEd Day

Bill Vasios, PA-C, Simulation Fellow, gave a presentation in partnership with the BSOM Office of Faculty Affairs and Leadership Development (OFALD) on Simulation Best Practices. This is the first of a series of simulation-focused workshops that will take place next academic year. Stay tuned to the BSOM OFALD website for dates!

Bill Vasios, PA-C, presents as part of a BSOM OFALD lecture series.

Photo right: Dr. Jennifer Bennett demonstrating pediatric trauma manikin capabilities to Dr. Tim Reeder and his legislative aide during the NC Legislature outreach event in May.

Photo Gallery

Contact Us

Phone: (252) 744-3251

Email: csc@ecu.edu

Website: medicine.ecu.edu/clinicalsimulation

Remember, our patients trust us to do it right…every time.

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