Hello From SAIL,
Welcome to another exciting edition of our newsletter! We hope this message finds you well and thriving in this new year. At the Simulation and Integrative Learning Institute, our journey continues to evolve as we 'SAIL' along, striving to shape the future of healthcare education.
SAIL's vision revolves around patient-partnered simulation strategies, empowering the entire healthcare community—patients, families, and diverse stakeholders alike. Our mission aligns with the UI College of Medicine's commitment to advancing community health by fostering a learning environment that equips healthcare professionals with empathy, expertise, and a dedication to global equitable care.
In our pursuit, SAIL remains dedicated to pioneering simulation innovation and advocating for health equity, ethics, and justice. We champion patient-centered care, emphasizing compassion and self-care while engaging in meaningful partnerships with our surrounding community.
Throughout the year, the SAIL Team has been at the forefront of simulation advancements, actively participating and sharing in gatherings like the Association of Standardized Patient Association Conference (ASPE), International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH), and the SimOps Conference. These engagements keep us updated on the latest methodologies driving our field forward.
As we celebrate our achievements, it's crucial to recognize the incredible dedication, flexibility, and ingenuity of the entire SAIL team. Their commitment propels our success, and we extend our heartfelt gratitude to each and every member.
Thank you for being a part of our journey! Here's to a safe and prosperous year ahead in 2024!
Warm regards,
Christine and Bob
Human-Based Simulation (HBS)
We kicked off the fall semester by welcoming a great crew of new SPs to the SAIL team! Welcome! We can’t wait to bombard you with 53,000 availability requests.* (*Check your emails.)
Speaking of 53,000 emails – it’s been a busy semester! Thanks to Sarah Schol for all her help with the HBS central scheduling while Ben Kass was on paternity leave. Welcome back, Ben! Just in time for Sarah to go on maternity leave! How about that?!?! Congrats to you both. WE NEED PICS!
Did I mention we’ve been busy? How busy you say? Well, besides the year-round clerkship exams, Doctoring and Clinical Skills (DoCS) workshops, offsite Plenary sessions, Mock OSCE, Regular OSCE, Rehearsal for Authenticity sessions, never-ending eternal ceaseless Graduation Competency Exam (IYKYK), all the trainings it takes to run everything I just mentioned, and regular physical exam workshops, we managed to survive a DoCS session that employed 32 SPs as physical exam models for second year students wanting to refresh their Core and Cluster physical exam skills. There was laundry for days! DAYS!
We hosted the Intro to Core program at SAIL for the second time – we only get better with practice! Congrats to all the new PIs!
This summer we filmed a series of videos for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology featuring a handful of SAIL SPs. Thank you to all who participated – you knocked it out of the park. Or should I say slammed it out of the park. (Ask Raina about her infamous door slam.)
The School of the Art Institute Chicago recently visited, using SPs as art therapy clients to simulate an art making/counseling session. Thank you to our new SP Daphne for jumping in at the very last minute!
All this couldn't have been possible without the super duper (extra) help of one Brook Celeste. Thank you, Brook!
I could go on, but did I mention the laundry?
Technology-Based Simulation (TBS)
That's a wrap on 2023! But before we go, we have just a few announcements:
TBS New Hires
The TBS team hired eight new skills instructors this fall. The new hires are a promising group and are moving right along with their training. We look forward to the new talent and can’t wait to get them started this spring semester.
Give them a warm welcome, Joanne Gallagher, Betty Godinez-Rodriguez, Paula Ham, Ed Jackson, Daniel Jacobson, Natalie Jaimes, Kristina Lopez, and Tim Trocke!
TBS Programming
TBS had a small break in the fall, but the spring programs are slowly creeping in. Many long days are coming up for M1 and M2 Synthesis, M4 Transition to Residency, M3 Transition to Clerkships Sim and Skills, UIH Resuscitation Workshop, and, of course, GME Resident Skills Assessment and all the additional resident training (including AHA) that comes along with the incoming interns. Bring it on, 2024!
Special Acknowledgements
We have a lot of talented and driven employees, so it's always nice to hear about folks pursuing their dreams personally and professionally. Forgive us, if we've missed anyone, but we'd like to brag about a few of them
- Leah Arof was married in October to her husband, Nick Vovos.
- Jack Anderson graduated from paramedic school also in October.
- Anne Moreno welcomed a new baby boy on November 28 th .
The TBS coordinators are thankful and fortunate to have such an amazing, talented, and thoughtful team of instructors, sim techs, and SPs. Your flexibility and continued support is much appreciated and we value all of you that have gone above and beyond to help staff our programs.
Have a wonderful holiday season!
UpDATES!!
SAIL recently received kudos from a client, Almost Home Kids:
The partnership between Almost Home Kids (AHK) and the Simulated and Integrated Learning Institute (SAIL) has been nothing short of exceptional, a synergistic collaboration that is having a substantial impact on our medical education programs. (SAIL's) continual guidance and insights have allowed us to perfect this training that is now being touted by home health nursing agencies across the state. The entire team at SAIL embodies professionalism, kindness and helpfulness, thus has fostered the ideal collaborative environment where everyone is incredibly dedicated to educating nursing professionals.
SAIL’s overall expertise, dedication and commitment to this partnership have undeniably contributed to the high yield of benefits for all stakeholders involved, and the impact of this collaboration extends beyond just organizational success. This partnership has not only elevated the quality of education provided by AHK but has also positioned the organization to secure a substantial award from the state, which will undoubtedly fuel the advancement of the Educate to Elevate Program as well birth the creation of our new caregiver training program. Through these combined efforts, children with medical complexities as well as their families are gaining access to more confident and competent providers better prepared to meet their unique needs. Thank YOU SAIL for this invaluable strategic partnership!
-Ponda Barnes, PhD
Director, Sponsored Programs
SAIL has been contracted by Chamberlain University' New Physician's Assistant Program to provide high-stakes, SP OSCE assessments as well as Urogenital and Gynecological workshops.
On October 25th, SAIL partnered with the College of Nursing Simulation team at CON's Schwartz Lab to provide programming for high school students from Westinghouse College Prep School. The students learned about simulation as well as participated in simulation stations working with mannequins and Simulated Patients.
Dr. Leah Burt, PhD, APRN, ANP-BC, CHSE has officially joined the SAIL team as the Director of Educational Quality Assurance. She is a board certified Adult Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Assistant Professor in UIC’s College of Nursing and the Department of Medical Education, and the Director of the College of Nursing’s Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program. Dr. Burt's area of research expertise is mixed methodology educational research. She is interested in evidenced-based strategies to teach diagnostic reasoning, as well as experiential and simulation-based learning interventions and tool development. A former Fellow in Diagnostic Excellence with the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) and the 2023 recipient of SIDM’s Emerging Leader Award, she is currently the Director of Educational Quality Assurance at the Simulation and Integrative Learning (SAIL) Institute. Dr. Burt collaborates with the SAIL team and healthcare faculty to lead scholarly educational development and assessment. Dr. Burt has published and presented nationally and internationally and is passionate about finding innovative, experiential ways to further diagnostic reasoning and simulation-based education.
Brook Celeste Lillard also recently joined the SAIL team, replacing Lynda Shadrake as a Human-Based Simulation Coordinator. Brook Celeste (she/they) has been in the medical simulation field for eight years working in medical schools around Chicago, as a Standardized Patient, Simulated Patient, Practical Instructor, Skills Instructor, and Gynecological Teaching Associate. Brook is dedicated to the practices of empathy and self-awareness. She believes that SAIL’s focus on these skills supports learners in becoming practitioners adept at listening deeply and taking seriously their own experiences and the experiences of all those around them. Brook is also a writer and performer who lives with their good/bad orange cat named Henry in the beautiful neighborhood of Rogers Park.
Our own Director, Dr. Christine Park is participating in a story telling event called "Pour One Out" on Wednesday January 10, 2023 - 7:00pm-8:30pm, part of a monthly series. Hosted at Volumes BookCafe, 1373 N Milwaukee, Wicker Park.
Simulation and Integrative Learning Institute
Department of Medical Education
University of Illinois College of Medicine
1220 South Wood Street, 5th floor (MC/951)
Chicago, IL 60608
312-413-8030