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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~
From Antarctic Rescues To SSH President: Matt Charnetski On Service, Research, And Community
What if the next breakthrough in healthcare simulation isn’t a device, but the proof that changes patient outcomes? We sit down with Matt Charnetski —paramedic turned technologist turned incoming president of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare—to chart a path from personal experience to system-level impact. Matt’s journey starts in Antarctic search and rescue and lands in board leadership, stitching together IT chops, clinical practice, and a bias for service that opened doors and built programs others can use.
Across this conversation, we get specific about what growth should mean for a global simulation community. Matt lays out a simple mandate: make pathways to serve obvious, invite more voices to the table, and treat partnerships with international organizations as two-way streets. As IMSH grows, he pushes for smarter matching between people and content, smaller communities inside big events, and technology that helps newcomers navigate without getting lost. It’s scale with intimacy, and it turns attendance into collaboration.
When we pivot to innovation, Matt targets the evidence gap. We already measure satisfaction and short-term learning; the leap is linking simulation to clinical outcomes, determining the right dose of practice, and funding the early work that proves it. That’s where the Ascend mentorship program and early career research grants come in—structured guidance, two-mentor support, and resources that turn good ideas into publishable studies and effective curricula. The payoff is a field that can defend its value in outcomes, not just anecdotes.
Matt’s why is human. A family story about communication in hospitals became a lesson he carried into paramedicine and now into leadership: teamwork is treatment. That’s why he invests in the people who teach, operate, and research simulation, because their impact cascades to learners and patients. If you care about inclusive leadership, meaningful mentorship, and research that moves the needle, this conversation will give you a clear map—and an invitation to join in.
If this resonated, follow and share the show, leave a rating or review, and tell us: what proof would help you advance simulation where you work?
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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 podcast is sponsored by Educational Management Solutions LLC. With over 30 years of experience developing cutting-edge solutions for simulation-based training, Education Management Solutions, EMS has earned its reputation as a trusted leader in healthcare education technology. By unifying data across learning and clinical settings, EMS enables organizations to transform education and training while elevating patient care. Discover how Education Management Solutions is advancing the discipline of healthcare training through adaptive technology at EMS-works.com. Welcome to The Sim Cafe, a podcast produced by the team at Innovative Sim Solutions, edited by Shelly Houser. 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. So pour yourself a cup of relaxation, sit back, tune in, and learn something new from The Sim Cafe.
Deb Tauber:Welcome to The Sim Cafe Podcast, where we bring together leaders, educators, and innovators shaping the world of healthcare simulation. And I'm your host, Deb Tauber, and today we are honored to h Matt Charnetski . So welcome, Matt, and thank you so much for agreeing to be a guest.
Matt Charnetski :Thanks for having me, Deb. I appreciate it.
Deb Tauber:So, first of all, congratulations on becoming the next president of the Society for Simulation and Healthcare. Can you thank you and can congrats.
Matt Charnetski :I'm pretty excited. Yeah, I'm I'm I'm excited about it.
Deb Tauber:Can you share about your journey? What first drew you into simulation and how it's evolved as you've taken on leadership roles within the Society for Simulation and Healthcare specifically?
Matt Charnetski :Yeah. I was pretty lucky. I fell into SIM by accident, like so many of us did. When I first fell into it, I didn't know that's what I was doing. So in emergency medical services, search and rescue, things like that, we just called it scenario-based training. But really, when I got my start in SIM was working with the joint Antarctic search and rescue team, where I was a team member and then eventually one of the medical people on the team. And we would recruit people from town to come be our patients, and then they'd come out with us for the day out into wherever we were going, and they would be the patient, and then we would have to get them out of whatever situation they were in and all of that. And I had no idea that simulation was a thing or that that there was, you know, real practice behind it or anything like that. And then years went by and I left the Antarctic program and I worked in electronic medical records implementation for a while, and then was a full-time paramedic for a while. And as I was getting out of being a paramedic, Des Moines University posted a job description looking for someone with five years of IT experience with healthcare IT being preferred, and five years of patient care experience with paramedics being preferred. And I thought, oh, that's unusual. And I found out years later they only invited me to interview because they thought I was lying on my resume, because it was bullet point by bullet point what they were looking for, which is great for me. And hopefully I think they still think great for them. And so I started as a simulation operations specialist back then. And that's when my eyes really got opened to everything that was out there and all the stuff that was going on. And I have a nerdy technical background, and then I have this health professions background, and I grew up in hospitals because my mom was ill. And all of these pieces kind of came together, and then I had this leaning towards education, and all of a sudden, here's this career path that has all of it. And yeah, I'd been in the role for maybe I don't know, it was probably eight or nine months, and my boss came to me and he said, I know you had talked about looking at a master's degree. Drexel is offering a master's in medical simulation, and but it's mostly distance and all this stuff. I maybe you'd be interested in it. And I poked around it a little bit and ended up being in the first cohort of their program way back when, and that just sort of set everything on fire. I mean, I just I was blown away by what the world had to offer. And at about the same time, I took my CHSOS because I had been in sim for enough time and I had some experience behind me. And I was, I believe I was in the first group of people to take the test after the pilot. So I got to the to fortunately be one of the people that I took the test and I got my score immediately, which was great. And as soon as I had finished that, two things happened. One, SSH reached out with a call for service asking people who had just gotten their CHSOS if they'd be interested in helping put together the readiness review courses. And through this community uh in uh amongst the Drexel faculty, I started to get to know Sharon Griswold, Theodorsen, Robbie Hales, Anne Marie Monacino. Uh I'm trying to think. There's so many people. Adam Chang, Paul Frampus was a piece of it, Jeff Barsuck. I mean, just all these fabulous people that at the time I had no idea how huge these people were in contributing to the simulation community and into research and into kind of practices that were going on. Suzie Kardong Edgren, really just like this fabulous list of people that I was so naive that here I am working with them. I signed up to do the readiness review thing where I got to meet Tim Whitaker and Lish Robinson and a bunch of other folks. And it just opened my eyes to this whole community that was out there. And it started to get me involved with SSH. I went to my first IMSH that year uh in New Orleans. And as all of that was coming together, I thought this, I love this thing. I love volunteering, like I'm I'm here for it. And so as I started kind of poking around, I am a natural volunteer. And so anytime somebody would ask if there was someone who could help out with X, Y, or Z, I would, I would say yes, typically. And I'd say 60% of the time me saying yes meant anything. Other times they'd be like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, guy, sit down. But plenty of times it it led to me being able to participate in these things and get to know all these fabulous people that are part of our community. And through that, then within SSH, I was chair of the hospital-based SIM programs. I was on the internal relations committee. I signed up for lots of different things, helping build things. I taught the readiness review course for years through a couple of other affiliations. I then was an item reviewer for the CHSOS test and you know, just really, really got to kind of touch all sorts of things, at which point I decided to run for the board. And that year I ran just as an at-large director, and I thought this looks like a great way to serve. What an interesting thing. I would love to do this. And I ran and I lost. I lost to Don Shokan, who is a fabulous person to lose to. But in that year, the upcoming year was Haru Akuda's president year, and he appointed me as more or less a representative of the operations committee uh community to the board. And so I got to join the board. It was a one-year appointment. And while I was there, I, you know, I got to see how the sausage was made, and I got to meet people and see how our board functions. And it really got me excited about it. And so the next year I ran, that time I ran for the secretary of the board, which I had held previous secretary positions in other boards and had been part of other communities in that sense. So I ran and and I won that year. So I had a two-year appointment as secretary of the board and then one year as an at-large director, just the way they make sure people overlap and kind of have some continuity. And at the beginning of my at-large year, I decided to run for president. And I ran, that was last year. Uh I ran uh and I did not win again, which was, you know, it sort of hits you in the pride, but also great. And for me as a person, I have always been of the if I don't get it the first time, it makes me like believe in it a little bit more. And I think, oh, their processes are probably working correctly. And so this year I did run again because I was I was still on the board, so I had one more opportunity to run this time. Ran for the board and then and then subsequently won. So through that time on the board, I've had the opportunity to be the liaison to the education committee, the liaison to the technology committee, to the newly formed DEI committee, or relatively newly formed. I was part of the DEI task force that led into that, and just really and and lately have been the uh the board member who sits on the meetings oversight committee. So really getting to see all of the different pieces and parts of SSH and how it's run and meeting all the people that are contributing to that has been just a fabulous journey for sure.
Deb Tauber:Wow. It's a lot of it's a lot of service. Thank you. But you do have a um an intricate view from being in all those different roles.
Matt Charnetski :Yeah, it's it's always a double-edged sword for an organization to be very large, right? We we want to be large, we want to be larger, we want to serve the community, we want to be part of all these things. And SSH is is certainly a large community now. You know, I I think right now we're at 5600, 5800 members, something like that. We've got quite a few members, and the conference has been getting larger and larger every year. Last year I want to say it was 4400, something like that. Quite a few people attending these things. And as it gets larger, there's more opportunities to serve, but there's also more need, and there's there's just more moving pieces to the whole thing. And as all of that comes together, then it's a hardship to steer, but also it has so much ability to then be able to serve the community, mentor people, build people up, and do so many things because there's so many people who have such great ideas.
Deb Tauber:And as you step into this role, what is your vision for SSH over the next year, coming years?
Matt Charnetski :Yeah, so the the president position is interesting with SSH. So we do a three-year presidency, but it's your first year, you're president-elect. So my president-elect year starts right after IMSH this year, and then your one year as president, and then one year as immediate past president. And that just gives us some overlap and some continuity and all those sorts of things. And so to that end, it's a three-year appointment, but it's one year as president. And for me, I I look at this as such a great opportunity to be a steward of an important community that has been built up by all these fabulous people, uh, the members, but also the past presidents and folks that have really created something special. And so I think seeing myself as a steward of that and and kind of maintaining the course that we're on. But personally, the spot where I feel like I want to focus my efforts are predominantly surrounding kind of inclusivity, and particularly in the sense that I think we have all these opportunities for service and we have this growing community, but finding the pathways sometimes are a little difficult. And I was really fortunate to stumble into a lot of great opportunities or force my way into them, depending on who you ask, I suppose. Uh, but but making those opportunities more clear, more obvious, and getting more people to the table so that we can hear more voices from our community, so that we can be truly representative of the membership that we have, part one. And then part two, we see all of these different organizations around the world that are doing such great work and they're contributing to this simulation community that we are a part of. And we happen to be large, but that doesn't mean we're the only ones doing great work. And I want to really focus on building those meaningful relationships that we've built so many over time, but looking closely at them and helping us to connect with all those different organizations in meaningful ways, in productive ways, and making sure that not only is their voice heard and the the things they're working on are coming forward, but that we're all contributing to those things together and they to us uh in the same way. Uh I think those things are really important to me.
Deb Tauber:Excellent. Now, where do you see the next big leap happening in simulation? And how do you think SSH can help guide and shape that innovation?
Matt Charnetski :You know, it's a great question. And I think immediately, of course, I want to talk about technology and that I don't know. I don't know where the next big leap in technology is. But I think the place where we have a really interesting opportunity as a society, but also just in sim, you know, the next opportunity for us is in the the efforts that are are ongoing to formalize research and to help us get to the point where we are really collecting more and more concrete data about how sim can effectively be used, how we can produce the outcomes that we need to research not just on simulation, but also the research using simulation and connecting us in a way that allows us to get past those level one and level two responses where yes, the learners enjoyed it and yes, the learners learned something, but also start stretching into the space of this had a real concrete effect on patient outcomes. And this is the appropriate dose of simulation, right? Right now we know that there's value in it, but how much is too much? How much is too little? Um, and so I think looking at those sorts of things will be important. And then my hope, my my sincerest hope is that we keep moving towards hollow decks and things like that, where Star Trek becomes reality and uh we can get more and more immersive simulation that is cheaper and cheaper. I mean, that's that's my dream, but but I I really think the increasing the evidence that goes behind how we use sim and how sim is most effective is is going to be our next big leap.
Deb Tauber:Yes, yeah. I would agree, and I think uh I think you're on a good trajectory to make some of those things happen, my friend.
Matt Charnetski :Hopefully. Hopefully.
Deb Tauber:Now, SSH has always been about community, connecting educators, clinicians, researchers, industry partners. How do you plan to strengthen the sense of collaboration?
Matt Charnetski :Yeah, I think um for me personally, just looking at how we can best structure our relationships with different organizations and also how we can potentially offer more of that intimate feeling of previous conferences and using more technology to be able to connect people. As IMSH gets bigger and bigger, we often are hearing about how people feel like they just get lost in the crowd or they can't find the right sessions. And a ton of work has been done in the last couple of years, particularly to mitigate that, to help people connect with each other, to help new people find their way, and also to create communities within SSH that allow folks to connect with those that are important to them. And I think continuing that work and continuing to build on those successes will be really important. I also think we've had so many really wonderful relationships with other organizations all around the planet and continuing that and continuing to grow that, but also taking it a step further and saying, How do we serve you? and how do you want to work with us? Where do you see our interaction to these different affiliates to be able to make it so that everybody comes out with something more concrete and it it builds that sense of community and collaboration, not just uh tacitly, but really specifically and in concrete ways.
Deb Tauber:Okay. And we constantly talk about more mentorship and leadership development. What why don't you tell us a little bit about some of the initiatives? I think I know some of them, but yeah.
Matt Charnetski :I think the two the two biggest and most exciting ones right now are the Ascend program, which I apologize. I I don't recall the what the acronym actually stands for. But it's it's really for early career simulationists to have an opportunity to connect with more experienced simulationists of all varieties, educators, research, operations folks, subject matter experts, you know, across the board, and give them an opportunity to have a focused connection with those folks to be able to build their career, find those niches where they want to work, where they can work, looking at how they can grow professionally and kind of become what they want to become as they go. And then the other thing that's out there that I think is really important is the uh early career research grant. And that I believe in the last couple of years, we've increased the total amount of money that is available for that. I believe it's it's there's more awards, not a bigger award necessarily. And from those, I think there's just there's so many costs that are associated with research that you know, we look at big grants to fund major research projects, but even small research projects come with overhead. And so for the society to be sponsoring that, and also for the research committee to be able to bring expertise to the table and connect folks to mentors that can help them plan their research project and push that forward, I think are both really important initiatives. I'm excited to see them as they grow. Ascend is new. We just did our second year applications, the early research grant, it has been around for a little bit longer, but we're, like I said, it's it's growing as part of the SSH fund. And so we're hoping to see more in that realm too.
Deb Tauber:Yeah, I'm part of the Ascend group, and so I can speak to the organization of it this year, it's excellent. They've done, you know, some kickoff meetings, having two mentors per mentee, which is really, you know, that's gonna be nice for the mentors as well. I'm gonna have another work with Philip Wortham as well as David Farr. Yep. So with with our new uh Ascend people, but it's very organized, and I think it it's definitely a way to work on development of people in in simulation.
Matt Charnetski :Yeah, yeah, that's exciting. Thanks for doing that, and I'm excited to see what comes out of this year's cohort.
Deb Tauber:Yeah, it's so organized though. I I think Marie's doing a great job, and uh yeah, Andrew and the whole group. On a personal note, what keeps your passion for simulation alive? Is there a personal story you'd like to share that reminds you of why this work really matters?
Matt Charnetski :There's a lot of personal stories that remind me why this work really matters. To go as far back as possible, I think about the first time that I recognized that teamwork and communication were something really critical to health care. And uh I mentioned before my mom was very ill growing up and and through pretty much all of her life. And uh I was in high school and I got a call. I was at at school and I got a call that they needed me to come to the hospital. My mom, my mom had been in the hospital for a few days. It wasn't a surprise that she was in the hospital, but they needed me to come talk to her because the physician was having a hard time getting through to her. And I thought, that's weird, I don't know what that's all about. And so I went to the hospital and I walked in, and my mom was just happily sitting there eating, having a nice time, ill, but that was not new. And I said, What's going on? She said, Well, the doctor doesn't want to talk to me. And I said, What do you mean the doctor doesn't want to talk to you? And she said, Well, I let him know what I thought of him. And I said, I don't, I, I don't, I don't really know what you mean by that. And she said, I didn't appreciate the way he was talking to the nurses. So I let him know that I didn't think very much of him. Now, that's the abbreviated version of the story. It went on from there. But I think the take-home from that and from so many other interactions that, you know, my dad was a lawyer, so he had lots of interactions with the hospital there as well. And I just so routinely saw how important communication was and how much of a difference that made in patient care and the relationship with patients for all healthcare professionals. And then it goes on from there, you know, my career as a paramedic and having the opportunity to have plenty of interactions where I did not do things well and didn't do things the way I maybe could have. And I think I was a pretty decent paramedic, but there's just so much opportunity for more training and more learning that all of those things together obviously brought me to the table. And now what keeps me passionate about it, well, what originally got me passionate about it was seeing those moments where the learners really got to stretch their legs and really something resonated with them, and all of a sudden their healthcare career really started to sort of generate around that experience. Now it's sort of one step removed, and now I feel that same way, but now it's about the folks I get to work with through the MGH IHP master's program, through people that I get to work with through different mentoring programs, or just people who reach out to ask questions and seeing folks that are as excited after a specific interaction, a specific experience about doing sim as those learners were about doing healthcare. And so, you know, working with my team now, uh, we've had a chance to hire some new people recently and getting to see those folks also generate a passion for sim and get excited about like the impact that we can have is cool. And it keeps me going back for more. And so the three levels of impact that we have on our staff, our learners, and their future patients, that just gets me all charged up for sure.
Deb Tauber:Yeah. And I'm sorry about your mom. It had to be very challenging when you were growing up.
Matt Charnetski :It was a thing. It was definitely a thing. Uh it was a very long, long story and a much longer story for her as well. But uh, but yeah, thank you.
Deb Tauber:Now, are there any final words that you'd like to leave our listeners with on how we can support you in your new role specifically?
Matt Charnetski :I I mean, I this community has been so supportive to me over the years in so many different ways. I hesitate to ask for more. And I guess I'm looking for the ways that I can support this community. My words to them are just or to anyone who's listening, I guess, at this point, to just keep doing what you're doing. It is such impactful work, and this community is so powerful, not just professionally and not just in healthcare. Sim outside of healthcare, but also amongst this community. Most of my closest friends are in sim. So many of the people that have been important to me professionally and also personally are in this community. So keep engaging and keep showing up and keep building those relationships. And then tell me about it. Come talk to me. I'm I I like to think I'm a pretty approachable person. And if ever I have to shade my eyes and run away, it's probably not personal. I'm probably just told that I have to be somewhere a certain time. I have a lot of handlers, a lot of people that that have to keep me on track. So let me know and keep me posted on how everything's going.
Deb Tauber:Okay. And if our listeners want to get a hold of you, where should they get all of you?
Matt Charnetski :LinkedIn is great. My phone number is out there in the world, so is my email. Uh, I won't put it here just so that we don't end up with millions and millions of people with that information. But LinkedIn is a great way through the SSH website is also a great way to get a hold of me. There's a new messaging function in our website through SimConnect. So come find me. And if there's anything I can do, please let me know.
Deb Tauber:Well, I might have you in the meet with the new dissimulation group. Perfect. I'd love to. Right? Yeah.
Matt Charnetski :I'd love to.
Deb Tauber:I'll put that out there as the chair this upcoming year. I I'm looking for ideas, and that might be a real way to get get the people fired up about it when they learn about your journey.
Matt Charnetski :That would be fantastic. I I love meeting with folks that are new to sim and people who've been in sim that are just new to me. But uh yeah, happy to meet with anybody.
Deb Tauber:Okay. Thank you so much and happy simulating.
Matt Charnetski :Thanks, Debbie.
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