Sim Faculty Show Up in Force at State Simulation Conference

Faculty members from the School's INACSL-certified simulation learning center turned out in force for the Virginia State Simulation Alliance, or VASSA, the Commonwealth's premier simulation conference for healthcare professionals.

Across six separate presentations at the July 29-31 event, UVA School of Nursing faculty and staff members Bradley Accipiter, sim tech specialist, Ryne Ackard, director of the UVA Healthcare Simulation Collaborative, Gina DeGennaro, professor, Andrew Guertler, senior sim tech specialist, Samantha Hudgins, nursing instructor, Emma Mitchell, associate professor, and Tanya Thomas, clinical instructor, offered VASSA attendees a glimpse into new simulations, best practices, and expanding educational and professional opportunities for sim staffers.

UVA faculty presentations included:

• "Utilizing a popular cloud-based project management software as an ad-hoc solution for simulation operations content management and data acquisition" (Andrew Guertler, Ryne Ackard)
• "Incorporating competency based education in an end-of-life elective" (Sam Hudgins, Gina DeGennaro, and Tanya Thomas)
• "Enhancing disaster preparedness in nursing: A simulation-based approach (Sam Hudgins, Emma Mitchell, Ryne Ackard, Andrew Guertler)
• "INACSL endorsement - Recognizing excellence every day" (Ryne Ackard)
• "Elevating expertise: Designing a career ladder for healthcare simulation operations specialists" (Ryne Ackard, Andrew Guertler, Bradley Accipiter)

Simulations are a growing part of both undergraduate and graduate nursing students' experiences. Thanks to a $2.035 million capital expansion project (part of Joanne and Bill Conway's record-setting $20 million gift to the School in 2020) that enabled the lab's capacity to grow by more than 82% (from 7,200 square feet to more than 13,100 square feet), today's sim lab boasts three times its previous student capacity with three new medical/surgical simulation rooms, debriefing rooms, and EPIC stations.

With bedside mentors at a premium, particularly since COVID-19, simulation practice ensures that students will be ready for the opportunities and challenges of caring for real patients during their clinical rotations. 

One-quarter of pre-licensure students' clinical hours may take place in a simulation lab, per Virginia Board of Nursing regulations. With the lab's expansion, UVA nursing students have been able to increase their hours in the lab by 15 percent. 

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