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Conference Concludes

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Dr. Ajit Sachdeva discusses American College of Surgeons accreditation.

Thurs. 9/16/2010 - PM

Following Army Maj. Thomas B. Talbot's, MD, presentation on the use of simulation in medical education in the DoD, two additional speakers talked about simulation outside VHA.

Dr. Ajit Sachdeva, Director of the Education Division with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) presented "Verification of Competence and Accreditation of Simulation Centers: Unique Opportunities to Shape the Future of Health Care."

During his presentation, Dr. Sachdeva explained the standards and criteria for ACS accreditation:

  1. Learners - Practicing surgeons, surgery residents, members of the surgical team and other health care professionals
  2. Curriculum - Comprehensive cutting-edge educational programs that include objective assessment of educational outcomes and follow up
  3. Technical Support and Resources - Space, personnel, devices, financial resources and educational support

Beyond accreditation, Dr. Sachdeva stressed the use of simulation for assessment. "The worst performers think they are the best," he explained. "Simulation is critical at giving accurate feedback."

For more accreditation information, visit www.simlearn.va.gov/acc.asp.

After Dr. Sachdeva's presentation, Morgan Passiment, Director of Information Resources Outreach for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), discussed a survey AAMC fielded regarding the use of simulation in medical education during her presentation, "2010 Inventory of Simulation Activities at North American Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals."

First, Ms. Passiment talked briefly about AAMC and its priorities. She then explained the need for a simulation inventory of AAMC member intuitions - much like the survey SimLEARN fielded to more than 170 VHA healthcare facilities. The AAMC final report is expected in late 2010.

When addressing the conference Wednesday, Dr. Robert Jesse, Principle Deputy Under Secretary for Health, noted the need to benchmark simulation based medical education (SBME) with sources outside VHA. Information from the AAMC survey may greatly aid in this effort.

Before the conference concluded, Dr. Paula Molloy, SimLEARN National Program Manager, took a few moments to look back over the events of the last few days. She highlighted the engagement between conference attendees - especially in the breakout sessions, including the VISN workgroups that identified VISN and facility specific priorities, challenges and gaps. The results of this work will be shared.

In an effort to improve communication, Dr. Molloy announced that SimLEARN is launching a monthly conference call starting in October and will send out information via a List Serve.

Dr. Molloy also connected SimLEARN to several key points of VHA's vision statement. "Patient centered care is at the heart of all we do," she explained. "This conference has marked the start of a journey of collaboration and commitment that will advance our vision of VHA leadership in clinical simulation."

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