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The Sim Cafe~
Discussions on innovative ideas for simulation and reimagining the use of simulation in clinical education. We discuss current trends in simulation with amazing guests from across the globe. Sit back, grab your favorite beverage and tune in to The Sim Cafe~
The Sim Cafe~
Uniting Global Expertise: Behind the Scenes of the IMSH 2025 Planning Committee
Reflecting on the planning journey of IMSH 2025, the dedicated team shares their experiences, triumphs, and challenges while emphasizing the importance of collaboration and community within the simulation world. Listeners gain insights into theme selection, speaker curation, and the emotional bonds formed throughout the process.
• Harnessing diverse expertise in the planning team
• Emotional moments of selection and acceptance
• Crafting a theme that honors the past and future
• The intricacies of selecting impactful speakers
• Navigating challenges and celebrating connections
• Handoff traditions for future planning committees
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Your turnkey solution provider for medical simulation programs, sim centers & faculty design.
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. This week's podcast is sponsored by Innovative Sim Solutions. Are you interested in the journey of simulation accreditation? Do you plan to design a new simulation center or expand your existing center? What about taking your program to the next level? Give Deb Tauber from Innovative Sim Solutions a call to support you in all your simulation needs. With years of experience, Deb can coach your team to make your simulation dreams become reality. Learn more at www. innovativesimsolutions. com or just reach out to Deb Contact today. Welcome to the Sim Cafe, a podcast produced by the team at Innovative Sim Solutions, edited by Shelly Houser. host Deb Tauber and co-host Jerrod Jeffries, Join . host, Deb Tauber, and co-host, Jerrod Jeffries, Join our host, Deb Tauber, and co-host Jerrod Jeffries as they sit down with subject matter experts from across the globe to reimagine clinical education and the use of simulation.
Deb Tauber:Welcome to another episode of The Sim Cafe, and today we are here with the 2025 Planning Committee. Thank you so much for being on. We have here Katie Kenzie, we have Shannon DeMarco, kyle Johnson and welcome Jared Jeffries. Why don't you guys go ahead and each tell our listeners a little bit kyle about yourself and then we can talk about IMSH 2025. Katie, you want to go first? Katie, you want to go first? Thanks.
Katie Kenzie:Deb and Jerrod. My name is Katie Mc Kenzie. I come from the simulation operations world. I've been in simulation for over 10 years now and I am joining you this morning from Brisbane, Australia. Thank you.
Deb Tauber:Kyle, you want to go ahead.
Kyle Johnson:Absolutely. My name is Kyle Johnson. I'm coming from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas, where I serve as the executive director for the TTUHSC simulation program. I have been involved in nursing education, nurse simulation and nursing education for about the past 10 years and more recently, getting to work with interprofessional learners across all health professions I'm 'm well in the know, loving every minute of it.
Deb Tauber:Excellent.
Shannon DeMarco:Yeah, and then I guess I'll go last. My name is Shannon DeMarco and I am the Administrative Director of Emergency Education and Clinical Simulation at the University of Wisconsin here in Madison. I have worked in simulation for about 11 years now and started out in doing research in medical education and simulation-based research with Dr Carla Pugh back at UW-Madison, starting in 2014. Then I worked at Children's Minnesota for a few years in their research institute and their simulation center and then came back to Madison in 2019 to be the director of their SIM program, and I'm really excited to be here. Thanks for having us.
Deb Tauber:Thanks for being on. So the first question I think we were going to talk about is have you guys debriefed since IMSH 2025?
Shannon DeMarco:No, this is actually, I think, the first time we've seen each other's faces since we all left each other in Orlando a couple weeks ago.
Jerrod Jeffries:Oh, this is going to get juicy. Then left each other in Orlando a couple weeks ago.
Deb Tauber:Oh this is going to get juicy, then A little reunion, yeah, okay. So how does the planning committee get selected? Do you guys want to go over on like the whole process of it, in case any of our listeners are interested in becoming a planning committee person in 2027?
Shannon DeMarco:Yeah, absolutely Happy to take that question and really kind of talk about what that process looks like.
Shannon DeMarco:So back in May of 2023, so about 18 months before IMSH 2025, we all put in our applications for this leadership position with SSH.
Shannon DeMarco:It's a volunteer position, but there are some requirements for being planning co-chair that the website can definitely disclose to people who are interested in looking at it, but it is open to anybody that fills within those qualifications to apply to be a planning co-chair. So I believe it was May of 2020 and in May of 2023, we all submitted our applications and it went through a vetting process with leadership at SSH, the Society for Simulation and Healthcare. And then, we believe we found out in August, Andrew Spain emailed each of us, congratulating us and telling us that we were going to be the 2025 planning co-chairs and you know, from there we kind of started getting on some emails and you know I know we're going to talk a little bit about what those first meetings looked like, but it was kind of this moment where we held our breath for about two months, wondering and waiting to see if we were going to be selected for this amazing opportunity.
Deb Tauber:And how did you feel when you found out that you were selected and how did you feel when?
Shannon DeMarco:you found out that you were selected, I felt very privileged and extremely honored. I likely probably cried just a little bit because I was so excited Knowing that I would be able to serve the SSH and IMSH in this caliber, knowing it's a huge honor and privilege to do so. So I was personally over the moon excited.
Katie Kenzie:Thank you.
Katie Kenzie:We know that Shannon's a little bit of a crier and we love you and always we knew that we were at an important moment in the process when Shannon's like, hang on, hang on, I need a minute. Uh, we, we knew that we were at a good point, um, yeah, uh, in the process, very good, um. But for for me, I had a little bit of bit of that imposter syndrome moment of like oh, they picked me, okay, well, here we go. But I quickly moved past that and realized that they did pick me and that meant that I was there and held myself proud. So I think proud was probably the big thing and held myself proud. So I think proud was probably the big thing. I was proud to be there from the simulation operations community, which hasn't always been represented in positions like this, and then later that transferred into my feelings where I volunteered for this.
Jerrod Jeffries:So yeah, privileged and proud, and then going into the volunteer role.
Kyle Johnson:Yeah, yeah For me. I I had just I was starting a new role when I when I found out I was learning that I was going to be in a different role.
Kyle Johnson:So I was. I would say I was a little bit nervous about, you know, I'd learned that this is quite a big partaking, just to make sure that I had my workplace, which I did. So, you know, I just kind of made sure that I had strong support. And then, yeah, I would say I resonate with Katie and Shannon. That moment of like wow, like y'all selected me. This is really cool.
Kyle Johnson:I've wanted to be something part like this big, but also that, oh gosh, you picked me. And again, a little bit like Katie, I've been on the research committee, so educator research. But the research committee is where a lot of my involvement with SSH has come from, and again, not a committee that's usually liking to get up on front of the stage a whole lot, and so I usually found myself with that task when I was at IMSH, and so really getting to show some enthusiasm about research but also getting to see part of the whole planning process, was just an honor. It was a lot of fun, and so I knew I was on a journey of fun and then got to know these two, Shannon and Katie, so well, which has made for a great team.
Jerrod Jeffries:Maybe too well, but a question for you is is there anything within the past I don't want to say year, more than a year, 18 months that has surprised you through the planning, or what's one of the bigger, larger takeaways for people looking to do this in the future?
Katie Kenzie:I'm happy to jump in on that one, because I've been this has been something I've been saying a lot, you know. I don't know if this was necessarily a surprise, but it definitely is something that really I got to understand more and that's the amount of amazing work the SSH staff do on a daily basis sort of the face of IMSH 2025. But, honestly, the work that we did is nothing in comparison to what the entire team of I believe it's 18 folks at SSH, you know put together. We would throw out the ideas and they would come back and say, okay, we can do that, yes, we've done that. And to walk on site I don't know for Kyle and Shannon, but to walk on site and to walk into that lobby and see everything that we had discussed, you know, months and months and months prior come to life was just absolutely spectacular, and it was all through the hard work of every single person on the SSH team.
Shannon DeMarco:Yeah, I can kind of piggyback off of that, as I would totally agree with Katie. I think for me, when we got to IMSH 2024, so the year before our IMSH I think I felt a little overwhelmed of just not understanding exactly the breadth of how much work we were going to have to do. We'd already picked our theme and I know we're going to talk about that probably a little bit. We'd already picked the themes, we were kind of on our way, but I don't think I understood how much food on the ground work the SSH team really does do for us, and so it was. I was a little overwhelmed, especially at IMSH 2024, but then recognizing that that SSH team is absolutely incredible and is there to support us, so if we ever had questions, if we ever had some extra support we needed, they were there for us and there was a lot of work for us to do but it made the workload very doable and manageable.
Deb Tauber:And can you share with us how the first meetings went Can?
Katie Kenzie:you share with us how the first meetings went. Yeah, for sure, that was something that, when I saw the names of the you know other co-chairs, I thought, hmm, I've seen those names but I don't know them. This should be fun. At that first meeting, I think we were all really eager to find out who we had entered this adventure with, and so we started meeting in October of 2023 with our main task of those first, and we met every week for the most part for that 16 odd months before IMSH 2025. So we got to know each other very, very well during that time, and during those first few meetings, we were really tasked with sort of coming up with the theme for IMSH 2025. I think, in a lot of ways, our group was super lucky in that we came in for the 25th anniversary and so, whilst we were told that our theme didn't have to reflect that that you know that wasn't any part mandated I think it gave us some scaffolding as a group, and so we were able to enter the space. Even though we'd never worked together, we were able to enter the space with kind of a little bit of a sense of where we might want this to go.
Katie Kenzie:Very quickly, it became apparent that Kyle, shannon and I um see eye to eye on a lot of things but also come from very different backgrounds and very different places, which doesn't always happen, that you have alignment but diversity in thought, and so we actually didn't have too much of the storming phase. Well, at least I don't think we had too much of the storming phase. You can correct me if I'm wrong, shannon and Kyle, but it was one of these things that when we looked at it, we sort of said we really wanted to acknowledge the 25th anniversary, but we didn't want it to be a moment where the whole conference was all about the past. We, really, between the three of us, we were most excited about celebrating that diversity, not only within our team but the diversity within the organization, where we're growing, where we've you know where we wanted the organization to go. And so we met and met and met around the theme and we kept throwing things out.
Katie Kenzie:And then eventually we had this moment where someone said something and it reminded me of a song and I was like, well, what about looking back? And then I think I said looking forward, and everyone and I sort of just said it off the cuff and everyone was like, well, what about looking back, um? And then I think I said looking forward, and everyone and I sort of just said it off the cuff and everyone was like oh, yeah, yeah, that's really good. And then somehow we circled back and you know, then we wordsmith that. But what we sort of all agreed was that was something that allowed us to celebrate our foundations and where we've come from. But we really made an intention in those first few months of meetings to really focus in on how are we going to message the reaching forward part of the theme.
Deb Tauber:Excellent, excellent. How did you guys decide on the speakers? That had to be really daunting take that one.
Shannon DeMarco:We went. We did get to meet together in person in Florida in February of 2024. So about 11 months ahead of the conference I think it was February, right yeah and we got together in a small room with a whole bunch of food and a select few people and we kind of talked about. You know, we'd kind of ruminated and thought about speakers. We had been given some kind of advice on where to look for speakers. They have, they work SSH again works with incredible speaker bureaus to find some really great speakers and can offer up advice on different speakers based on what we were looking for.
Shannon DeMarco:But we essentially sat in a room for two or three days straight and watched a lot of videos and had a lot of conversations specifically around what were we looking for?
Shannon DeMarco:And it wasn't just, you know, we like this one speaker, we're going to put that person into this space, we're going to put this person in space.
Shannon DeMarco:We actually really were very thoughtful about what we wanted each day to feel like.
Shannon DeMarco:We wanted to make sure that we were addressing specific components of, you know, the reaching back or looking back, reaching forward theme within our speakers. And so, as we put these four speakers together, we really kind of mapped out and thought, okay, kyle Shealy would be the best person to kick us off. And you know, we kind of moved ourselves around that when we had Crystal, we intentionally put Crystal on a specific day, we had Nicole on a specific day we had all of our speakers kind of mapped out how we thought they would flow best for the entirety of the conference. So once we got through that meeting together, we had a short list of people that we wanted, a couple of backup people again, let SSH run with it and they worked on kind of putting in contracts, putting the people in place and making sure that we were within our limitations of what we were given as guidance but then also were able to still really put forward that idea that we really wanted to, with the looking back, reaching forward format.
Deb Tauber:And did you have anything that really surprised you?
Kyle Johnson:I can start with that one. I think we'll probably all three have something that surprised us. You know, one of the things that we kind of reflected on is, as we got there, we were like you know, there have been IMSHs before that have had tons and tons of rain, and you know our fear that that was going to be like some event that we would have to navigate while we were on site, and you know there was some weather issues that caused people to get delayed. And then the first night of the diamond ball, I remember I believe I was outside with either I can't remember if it was Katie or Shannon and that fire alarm actually went off. And we found out that there actually was one, and and our, the whole group was still dancing inside of the diamond ball. And we're like that's going to be our thing, there's going to be a fire, we're going to all have to evacuate during the diamond ball. But we didn't, and so really, everything went really smoothly, and so I say that one kind of laughing.
Kyle Johnson:The thing that surprised me the most is we got a chance to meet with each of these speakers ahead of time and we talked to them about our discipline, about our passion. They always asked us about what should we be mindful of, what should we consider? And I felt that each speaker heard us and somehow tied just a little bit in the simulation. I mean the first guy, Kyle, the patron saint of crazy ideas, like I will never forget. And I think if anybody was at IMSH people probably know that Nicole, the patron saint of crazy ideas Like I will never forget.
Kyle Johnson:And I think if anybody was at IMSH people probably know that Nicole the pilot like she kept referring to me during it. So that was a lot of fun. But when Kyle Shealy said on the first day I mean at some point Don't you think people thought simulation was a crazy idea, I thought you nailed it because everybody in this room from an operations administration researcher background knows that a lot of times it's like, well, we can do that in clinical, we can do this the way we've done it. And when he landed that on the first day, I thought our team was heard and they put voice to simulation and I think it just that was a big surprise for me is just how that first day, I think, ignited people for that reaching forward like mentality.
Kyle Johnson:I thought, that was really cool yeah, and Kyle.
Katie Kenzie:I think, echoing off that, definitely each one of the speakers had those moments where we had hoped that they would do their research, but I think the level of research that they did was something that we haven't necessarily seen before. I went to introduce Nicole to Barry Eisenberg on the first day backstage and I said Nicole, this is Barry, he's our president of the organization. She said, oh, I know so she had already. She had already done her research, and that was definitely a surprising moment for me of being like, oh okay, well, good, this is Barry. Um, so yeah, I echo that, kyle, that was something that was both exciting and a good surprise um, and for me I would agree with both what Kyle and Katie said.
Shannon DeMarco:But but I have another piece that was really exciting and kind of surprising to me is so this year they tried something new by doing a cornhole tournament the first night, and you know it was. All the proceeds went to the SSH fund, which I think was a great cause to put it to. I watched all of it for the most part, and watching the teams of people play was amazing. But seeing the collaboration and the communication and just the off-the-cuff conversations that occurred was really impactful for me and it was cool to see, through the rest of the week, the people that I saw that I knew interacted at the Cornhole tournament, saying hi to new people in the hallways that they would not have met any other way. And then, as a shameless plug, our team from Madison I wasn't playing, but our team from Madison won the Cornhole tournament, which is why I watched about three hours worth of Cornhole. But I think it was such a cool way to kick it off because you saw people.
Shannon DeMarco:We saw a lot of SSH fellows playing. We saw people who was their first IMSH, had never been there before, and people that you might not see interacting with one another throughout the rest of the conference really got that chance to have some dynamic conversations, even if it's just about where they're from and how good they are at cornhole no, I could never find you, Shannon uh you did a lot of cornhole, but I did hear a lot about that cornhole tournament I think a lot of people love I and I don't remember his name uh, katie, maybe you know he was australian, but some australian guy was the first time playing cornhole and he just loved it.
Jerrod Jeffries:It was like, yeah, this conference is even better just because of this cornhole thing. So, to your point, it is stuff like that, right. Of course, the keynotes and the presenters are memorable, as well as the overall show, but it's something that's a little different and pushes things that people don't expect. I think that really make them walk away memorable.
Katie Kenzie:Yeah, and I think the cool thing about that is he was actually one of the recipients of the awards to be sponsored to come to IMSH. Oh, even better. Yeah, yeah, so a big full circle there.
Jerrod Jeffries:Perfect.
Deb Tauber:Great. How do you hand off to the 2026 Planning Committee? How does that work?
Kyle Johnson:You know, just kind of echoing what Katie said about the work that the SSH staff does, we learned when we were going to be handed off to. You know, we came into IMSH 2024 and we had things that we had to do and we were also presenting. So that was a very busy IMSH for us and at the same time we're watching the co planners for IMSH 24 put on this. You know just how their theme came together and all of this and we were so early in the planning stage and I didn't really know them that well, I did. I did know one person better than the others, but it's not like I had been, you know, talking with them a whole bunch. But the IMSH team said you know, you're the last day. Once the final day is done, you'll meet with the team that just is wrapping up and you'll get to have lunch, which of course, on the last day. The tradition of unveiling the new theme and handing it off always happens. But they talked to us about well, you'll get to have lunch and it turns out that that's kind of been a tradition that the group that is incoming as the co-planners gets to do lunch with the previous co-planners on the last day and we did. I mean, the IMSH was done, we went and we were out by the pool in San Diego and sat there and just kind of enjoyed a time of fellowship with one another, food and drink, and just talked about their experience. Some things that along the way they kind of ran into that were like this was a very busy time. So when they tell you to carve out this week, carve that week out, and so, and things that we had heard from the team but then had been reiterated by the three co-planners. So then we all knew like, okay, on the last day we get to do the handing off process.
Kyle Johnson:I had not seen the theme, I didn't know the theme until during the rehearsal the day before. So that's all we got to show off, our two hands, touching and looking back, reaching forward. And then that moment where we were in the rehearsal and we were like oh, unbound, like that's cool, and then hearing their thought process behind it. We got to the privilege of seeing that in the rehearsal the day before and seeing them get up on stage and again navigate the clunkiness. Were super nervous about that. This will all come with time. But then we had lunch with them right afterwards got a chance to meet with them, learn a little bit more about them, learn how their theme came together and then share our perspective of what really just passed the torch right. So I feel like many of the things that we were told in that meeting we probably for us, we reiterated to them, but it's turned into this tradition and I remember, you know and again I just think we can't say enough Katie Shannon and I a number of times talked about the SSH staff, the little things like.
Kyle Johnson:The little things that the SSH staff turning, like making this co-planner a role, that's a leadership opportunity to get to work with them, and then just the little things of like, yeah, you get to have lunch with them and you get to pick the team, and that just made the experience all so well. So then, yeah, I remember telling Trinnell I'm like this lunch thing you've got to always do it. You always have to do it because now it's just this tradition and even though we only had about an hour with each other before people had to catch on flights, it's meaningful. So that was the handoff process.
Jerrod Jeffries:And to that point, kyle, I mean that is the point of going to these conferences, right, I mean IMSH, arguably the largest. It's the network, it's connections, the people you meet and I think what you three you know came together. Okay, who am I going to be planning this one with? And then, when it comes to you know, getting in deeper and getting to know some of the SSA staff and all those passionate you know around the world, it's something pretty special.
Katie Kenzie:And I think anyone who's thinking about maybe taking up this opportunity. I think that's one of the biggest wins that you get out of this personally is the connections that you get to make with folks that you know. I had always interacted with the SSH staff, generally via email or like a quick hi at these events and things like that, but this allows you to get to know them as the professionals they are and the people that they are. You get to meet with all the content, co-leads and leads who put in an enormous amount of work, and that's from folks across the spectrum that you get to meet with and show your appreciation. You get to meet with board members and fellows, but you also I don't know about Kyle, actually I do know about Kyle and Shannon we would take two steps at the conference and people would come up to you and talk, and so we got to meet people from around the world, and I know we normally get to do that, but you get to do it on a whole other level when it comes to to this, and so that would be one of the biggest perks.
Katie Kenzie:I would say, if you're thinking of doing this, know that you're going to walk away with really deep connections and interactions with folks across the world and across the spectrum of simulation, and you get to make two pretty good co-chair friends out of it for sure yeah, a lot of feedback about how wonderful the conference is was this year and you guys should feel really good about the work that you did and you know and the difference that you made.
Kyle Johnson:Thank you yeah, thank you very much you're welcome.
Deb Tauber:Thank you for what you did. Do you guys have any closing remarks that you want to leave our listeners with?
Katie Kenzie:So we've just spent a little while looking back. So now let's move into 2025, reaching forward.
Shannon DeMarco:I.
Shannon DeMarco:My parting thoughts is that you know, if it's something, that this is a great way to serve the SSH and the simulation community, and so if you are considering it, I strongly encourage you to apply for it or to reach out to Katie.
Shannon DeMarco:Kyle and I. We'd love to chat with you about our experience more, give you tips and considerations to have, and then you know, to echo what Kyle and Katie have said, without trying to cry, that has been the theme in the earlier part of this but I've made two amazing friends in this realm, not just colleagues, people I would consider to be dear friends for a lifetime, people I know I can rely on for questions within the simulation community that I probably wouldn't be comfortable going to other people for maybe and it's worth it, like even just that walking away I felt sad and kind of like I don't know what my next steps are with service for SSH. I still want to contribute to SSH as best I can. So it was sad when it was over, mostly because I won't be seeing Kyle and Katie on a weekly basis and Trinnell and the amazing team at SSH. So it's a fast and fun, blurry year. It's well worth it and we encourage anybody to give it a shot.
Deb Tauber:Thank you.
Kyle Johnson:Oh gosh, I don't know how to follow up on that. Sharon, you might make me cry. That was well said. Yeah, that was very well Because, yeah, you know, and I've found, you know, just, even in the history of my career, it's often like really difficult, huge, like you know, just the huge idea of putting something on for 4300 people and you want it to go a certain way, and just all this pressure is really what bonded us together as a team, like we wanted it to be something that worked really well and so a lot of work went into it. But at the end of the day, we came out with more than colleagues and definitely friends that I imagine I'll get to see at least once a year at all the upcoming IMSHs, and, yeah, that bond, it is worth it. So, yeah, I'm finding myself just echoing what Shannon says, but I would definitely say, if you've got the time and you've got the support from your university.
Deb Tauber:Go for it. Very cool. Thank you so much, Jerrod. Anything you want to conclude with?
Jerrod Jeffries:no, I appreciate you taking the time here. You three I know past I was even trying to do the math there we've been meeting weekly for the past 18 months. That that's a lot of meetings, so I'm sure this is not the final one by any means. But I appreciate you spending the time to debrief with us, and I think you know there's a lot of people that are curious about how to give back to SSH, and you know, I think there's a multitude of ways, just as there's a multitude of ways to be a simulationist, and so I think you know, spending some time looking into what you've been through and share your experience has been really helpful. So I appreciate you spending the time with us and, of course, we'll see you next year.
Deb Tauber:Yeah, thank you, and thank you Katie for getting up so early. Katie's in Australia, so we really had a little global podcast today, right? Thank you very much and happy simulating.
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