The Sim Cafe~

The Sim Cafe~ An interview with the IMSH 2023 Planning Committee

January 09, 2023 Season 3 Episode 14
The Sim Cafe~
The Sim Cafe~ An interview with the IMSH 2023 Planning Committee
Show Notes Transcript

In this episode, Deb has the opportunity to meet with the IMSH planning committee for 2023 and find out what to expect this year at IMSH. The planning committee team; Jarrod Young, Linda Wilson, and Sean Cavanaugh meet and discuss the process and the anticipation of the event. 

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Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of anyone at innovative sim solutions or our sponsors.

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Intro:

Welcome to The Sim Cafe, a podcast produced by the team at Innovative Sim Solutions, edited by Shelly Houser. Join our host, Deb Tauber, as she sits down with subject matter experts from across the globe to reimagine clinical education and the use of simulation. So pour yourself a cup of relaxation, sit back, tune in, and learn something new from The Sim Cafe.

Deb:

Welcome to another episode of The SIim Cafe. Today we are truly blessed because we have the planning committee from IMSH 2023. Joining us today, we have Linda Wilson, who's the Assistant Dean for continuing education, simulation and events clinical professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University in Philadelphia. We have Sean Kavanaugh, who's the Associate Director of Simulation Education at NY U, Long Gain, Long Island in New York, and he's got 15 years of healthcare simulation experience. He is a fellow of the society and he's a certified healthcare simulation operation specialist. Welcome, and we have, again, visiting Jared. Thank you for joining us As second time guests and Jared Young comes from CHIPS, if you guys wanna say anything else about yourself, go ahead and thank you for being a guest.

Linda:

Thanks for having us.

Jarod:

Yeah, thanks for having us, Deb

Deb:

So this isn't gonna be the same as the regular Sim Cafe podcast. I wanna learn about how this planning committee put everything together. Did you come together before the, the planning committee and say, Hey, how a bout three of us, you know, submit t o do this together?

Linda:

I was gonna say that we each, uh, submitted an interest in, uh, working on this position, and then I believe it's the board of directors who determines who's selected for the co-chair positions. And then we once selected or offered the position, and then we actually start meeting prior to last year's IMSH.

Deb:

So what was that like when you found out you were selected?

Linda:

Exciting,

Deb:

<laugh> exciting, but you're thinking, boy, this is probably gonna be a lot of work.

Linda:

Absolutely. But very, very thrilled to be offered the opportunity.

Jarod:

Yeah, I'll, I'll jump in here, Deb. I couldn't ask for a better group of co-chairs to work with. I think I knew Sean a little bit from, uh, some of our prior time in Soughts, um, but didn't have the pleasure of really getting to work with him. I think we were always just missing on our, uh, on our professional timelines a bit. And I knew of Linda's name, but I'd never had the pleasure of working with her. But, uh, like Linda said, uh, we started meeting, I think back in October or November of 2021 and everything just came together seamlessly. Um, I think this has been a great group and I think when we sat down and started talking about themes and we kind of threw some things out there and like, we just landed on this one, right? Like, we were like, okay, standard of excellence is it, and then everything from there, it's our, our shared mental model has, uh, has been on point. So we've really connected and meshed well, and I think it's gonna turn into a really great product for everybody here in a couple weeks.

Deb:

Now, do you guys have any idea of how many people are registered?

Sean:

We don't have exact numbers at this point, but we've been told it's trending in the same direction as the 2020 conference, which was the largest IMSH to date. So we're very excited for the prospects of having a, a very large audience, but we don't have exact figures right now.

Deb:

Now if you guys have listened to any of the podcasts, you know, that I love to read, I love to<laugh> learn. So the keynote speaker, which one of his books would you suggest I read before I am messaged?

Jarod:

So I've actually, Ryan Leak, who's gonna be the plenary speaker for Monday. Um, the Louobor for sure. He has a, a book titled Chasing Failures. And I think when his name first kind of came across in some of our research, I really liked his energy. I liked his message. I was in search of, of something to read at the time. So I, I bought it and I thought it was great. I think it's a great message and I think that he's gonna do a great job come Monday when, when he presents, I think our speaker first Sunday Joe Mole. Um, he's actually gonna be speaking on title and that's gonna be, you know, somewhat around his new book that's coming out, but that's not coming out until May of 2023. So you'll definitely wanna have that one on your radar. And without giving too much away, the title I thought was, was very neat. It was called Employee. So it, it kind of lends itself in line with keeping, you know, your loyal employees happy, healthy, and and around for you. So that's one for the, the near future.

Deb:

Oh, I look forward to that. What are some of the things that we should be thinking about going into IMSH? What are some of the things that are really exciting when you were planning?

Sean:

Well, I'll just to keep the, uh, plenary speaker conversation going. I think all three of us were just blown away that we got all four of our top picks as plenary speakers. So all of our first choices agreed to participate and we were able to lock them in. So I think we're all super excited for the messages that the plenary speakers are going to be delivering. I think that each of them will really speak very well to our community and they really touch on different aspects of what makes our community great. So anything from embracing the notion of being an outsider or with Ryan Leak chasing failure and kind of shifting how you think of failures in your life, I think everyone is just going to, it's just gonna have such an impact on our audience. I'm just very excited to get people inspired and reinvigorated leaving the conference.

Deb:

Excellent.

Jarod:

And I'll jump in Deb and say, I think one of the other big changes this year, especially with some of the scheduling and you know, some of the days starting a little earlier and Wednesday, we're flipping the script on the plenary sessions and then the presented sessions by our members. And a lot of this was done to be able to extend the hours in the exhibit hall as well. So really going down there and, and seeing what the vendors have to offer, you know, a lot of our members haven't been to a conference or haven't been to IMSH in three years. I mean, a lot has changed in that three year time span. So I think it was very intentional to really get out there, I'm in front of the vendors and really see what's going on in that space. So I think that's another exciting change and um, just the slate of presentations is exciting. I think, I think we've all lamented the fact that we don't have time to, to go into any of the sessions because the titles in the sessions we reviewed, it was just an amazing list of presentations and, and that's the work that's been done by the members of the society. So I think anybody coming is gonna find plenty to, to take away and they're really gonna enjoy coming, uh, down to, to Orlando and, and seeing it in person.

Deb:

Yeah, I'm really excited. Last year I was one of those people that was afraid to go out, so I bought my ticket, I was set to go and then I just like raised the red flag and said, now I can't go<laugh>. So I am excited to go this year and I think it's gonna be a wonderful experience.

Sean:

And just to add one other, maybe exciting change is related to the sim inventors showcase. So this year there's going to be a vote to determine the best innovation of the year. So on Monday there'll be an opportunity to visit sim inventors and then the audience will vote to determine the best innovation. And then that person or group will be recognized at IMSH. So very exciting for the, the, for the tech community and for everyone to really see all the innovations that are happening out there.

Deb:

Yeah, there's a lot of things that are new and it's very exciting if our guests are thinking, you know, gee, I'd like to be on the planning committee. How many hours do you think that you committed to this? Cuz this is all volunteer work, this is all labor of love<laugh>.

Sean:

Yeah, you know, uh, actually Jared and I spoke about this informally because it really, I, you know, initially it seems very intimidating and, and I kind of struggled with whether or not I I was gonna be able to apply and really fulfill the obligations of being on the a co-chair. Um, and I spoke with some friends and colleagues who had done it in the past, and really it comes in waves. So you'll, you'll have very busy periods, particularly in the beginning when you're trying to develop your theme and you're researching speakers and you're working to get co-leads and, and leads nailed down, and then there's kind of a lull and then you go through maybe a couple of months where you're just kind of waiting for time to pass and, and then it, it ramps up again. And now I think we're as busy as we've ever been. So I think if you can manage kind of those ebbs and flows and stay ahead of some work when it's slower just, you know, administrative things that you have to handle, it's definitely manageable and it's, I would absolutely encourage people to get involved this way. It's very rewarding and it's, it's a unique experience. I'm, I'm not sure how else to describe it,

Jarod:

Deb. I think when you said labor of love, you, you hit it the nail on the head. Um, Sean did a great job laying out kind of the ebbs and flows and the busy seasons, but even when we were busy, especially when we're setting out the theme and we're looking at plenary speakers, you know, that excitement really kind of bubbles over and, and it drives you to spend those extra hours after work or in the evening kind of digging into and researching this. Cause I think at the end of the day, at least for me, and I'm sure for both Sean and Linda, it's the excitement of being able to set that slate and show your passion, your thoughts, um, and hopefully, you know, the members and the attendees feel that same energy, that same passion and see where we wanted to go with this. So I was always, you know, my approach has been to be dedicated to provide the best product that we could for anybody attending. And, and I think that, that we've hit that nail on the head for sure. But again, for those that are interested in it or are interested to be able to drive that and kind of be the change they want to see in our society, I think don't shy away from the fact that, you know, you are worried that it may be too much work. Because like Sean said, at times they, you may have a week that's really busy, but then it'll, it'll drop back and, and you can't ask for a better group from the society as well. Like the, the employees, uh, at s s H have done a number to help kind of hold our hand and be able to bring us along to where we need to be. So like the playbook is set, it's there. We just get to do the fun creative part.

Deb:

Very cool. What are some things that maybe surprised you during this? Is there anything that you were just like, ah, I never thought about that?

Sean:

I think from the program design, I was just blown away by the number of submissions that came in. I mean, I, I was lucky enough to co-chair SimOps a couple years back, and so I, I, I know how much content comes into that conference. I just couldn't believe for IMSH the amount of course proposals that come in and just, I think that was the biggest shock for me. And then all the work that goes into really refining the program, because you're dealing with just such high quality submissions, it's really a difficult process kind of figuring out what makes it to the final slate when everything is just, it's such high quality.

Deb:

Yeah, I'm sure the people who were accepted were just thrilled when they get that acceptance letter and celebrating inside, uh, and in as a group if they're doing it presentations as a group.

Linda:

Yeah. Also the, uh, the number and levels of reviewers that go into the review process, I never really realized there were so many people in that process.

Jarod:

Well, and Deb, the only thing I'll say, you know, along that line, you know, the surprising part is how many great submissions there were that unfortunately there's not a, you know, there's not enough room for for us to be able to bring into the final slate. So I agree with everything Sean and and Linda said, but I think along the same lines of encouraging others to do it, I think the most surprising part was just how seamlessly everything came together. You start, and it's a lot of work early on, but it's almost like once the ball gets rolling down the hill, you get your theme, everything starts to come in line from there. So I was really surprised just that once that theme is announced, how kind of seamlessly everything really flows from there.

Deb:

Well, we are pretty close to IMSH, so I have to imagine you guys are having some sleepless nights now hoping and praying that everything hums off without a hitch. I can tell you that's how I would feel

Jarod:

<laugh>, Deb, I have a, a child under two, so I always have sleepless nights,<laugh>, It's a lot of work. But again, I, I just go back to it's been a great staff, a great group of planning chairs. So I think we've, we've been very intentional about this process of making sure that we're doing our work as far out as we possibly can. I think being able to be front and center, see a little bit of last year's planning chairs, be able to kind of work through the high level of information and the activities that come along with that role and how you have to be prepared, I think, um, kind of gave us a little foresight into, okay, how can we start preparing and make sure that we get things done and, and a time that we can sit back and enjoy I M S H and being there with, you know, all the other members that we'll see nationally, internationally that, you know, we often only get to see once a year.

Sean:

And I'll just say that for me, the, the sleepless nights are when I envision being on the stage looking out<laugh>, uh, instead of being in the audience looking up. So, um, I'm very curious to see how I respond to that in the moment. But that, yeah, that, that has gotten me up in the middle of the night a few times.

Deb:

Ooh, that just gave me palpitations,<laugh>, I'll be thinking about it when I see you after I'll be, I'll be, I'll be, I'll be sending you good vibes and prayers. Calm, you're in yourself. Yeah. When you guys talked about the keynote speakers, how did you come up with the list of people who might be keynotes? What was, what was that process like?

Linda:

I see we started out with all each in doing individual searches and then we came together and brought who we thought we identified. That might be good.

Jarod:

Yeah, every group is, you know, a little different since we kind of had one central theme as, again, compared to last year's theme where it was kind of a, a three part theme there, we kind of had to develop maybe some of our sub-themes, if you will, or some of the messages we wanted to be able to pull out of our central theme standard of excellence. And so I think for me, that's kind of where my mind went. Like, what do we mean by standard of excellence? Or what are we trying to, to show, you know, what do we want people to get out of this? I think as names started rolling in, again, the staff is great, helping past names along, but it's a lot of work on the front end of you kind of doing research of, okay, here's some of these people, let's watch a little bit. But bringing others to the table that you've seen, whether it's, you know, just going on Google and searching plenary speakers or whatever and, and finding those common messages and themes. But again, it was a lot of work, but it was, it was a lot of fun to be able to watch and just kind of say, okay, that person, good message, but maybe it's not the right, uh, not the right delivery, or, I love this person's energy. Maybe the message is off and really just trying to make those puzzle pieces fit together. But, but yeah, it was, it was quite a process.

Deb:

Is there anything else that you guys wanna let our listeners know about What to expect? I think you guys are familiar with, we're gonna have the press box this year. I guess I had a little love it last year, and then this year it's gonna be the box, and then we're gonna have a four different podcasts and I'm honored to be selected as one. And I'm phone a friend, so Jared Jeffries is gonna come with me. He's gonna be my co-host,

Sean:

<laugh>. That's exciting that the press box is expanding like that and that our community is creating all these podcasts to share information. It's really great.

Deb:

Yeah, I just think podcasts are an easy way to get through some difficult things like laundry, dishes,<laugh>,<laugh>.

Jarod:

Yeah. I think to what John said, Deb, I, I think I enjoy listening to, uh, to the sim cafe. I enjoy all the other podcasts that are out there as well. Like, it's nice for, for people to be able to disseminate and share information, share a little bit about themselves as well, you know, and I think that's the nice thing about something like I M S H, right? Like, it's a time for us to be able to, to be in person and kind of share ourselves outside of our nine to five, you know, outside of that, that work life and really connect with others in the community. So I'm excited to be there, excited to, to be part of the press box. Uh, I know we've got some different dates and times, uh, to be with some of the podcasts as well there. So excited just to share our experience and our thoughts on how I M S H is going.

Deb:

Well, on behalf of all the members who are going to, um, receive the benefit of this, I wanna thank you guys for your time and for all the work that you put into on this. I know it's gonna be wonderful and I am very, very excited about it. And is there anything else that you wanna leave our listeners with before we conclude?

Linda:

We hope to see you all there,<laugh>.

Sean:

Yeah, we're really excited to, to reconnect with everyone, uh, get those conversations going in between sessions, you know, in the morning before sessions. It's, I think it's just like Jared said earlier, for some people it's three years since we've been together and for a community like ours where, you know, we have a lot of us have very tight bonds, um, but we maybe don't get to see each other, but for once a year at this conference, it's just really exciting to reconnect with a lot of those people.

Jarod:

Yeah. Please come up and speak to us, introduce yourself, connect with us again, let us know what, what speaks to you out of the theme, out of the speakers for the day? Um, I think again, it was, it was a lot of work. It was a labor of love, and so we want to be able to see, you know, that love kind of exude through others, right? Like we want to, to see what out of that speaks to somebody else or, or how these messages may hit home, especially for some of those that have had that three year break. Uh, just excited to see and, and hopeful that there are more than just the three of us. Happy by the end of it, so.

Deb:

Well, and I think we can go ahead and put a push out there for, you know, and if anyone's interested in becoming an accreditor<laugh>, find out about the process.

Jarod:

There's so much we can talk about here. Um, but that is, you know, on Sunday we'll highlight a couple, uh, different people that are represent accredited programs and just what that means to them in their program as well as some certified individuals and what that certification means to them. I think we were part of our, our message through standard of excellence is for people to really recognize the great work that's going on in the field and be able to continue to push it forward. So we really want to see people continue to step out to volunteer, to become more involved. Because at the end of the day, I M S H and, and our society in general, it's, you know, put on by our members is everything you're gonna see at the conference is, is from what our members are doing at their site. So if we get to a point where we're not continuing to push this thing forward, then it becomes stale and stagnant. So, you know, we want to see, you know, record numbers every year moving forward. We want record numbers of volunteers, a record numbers of, uh, reviewers, like Linda said earlier. Just continue to see people be able to give back and be able to push things forward.

Deb:

Thank you very much. And with that, happy simulating. See you at IMSH,

Beaker Health tag:

Thanks to Beaker Health for sponsoring this week's episode. For more information on Beaker Health, Innovative Sim Solutions and Inclusive consulting, stop by the simGHOSTS# 642 at IMSH.

Outro:

Thanks for joining us here at The Sim Cafe. We hope you enjoyed, connect with us at www.innovativesimsolutions.com and be sure to hit that like and subscribe button so you never miss an episode of The Sim Cafe.