Registration is now closed for this year’s program!
Program Description
The Association for Surgical Education Curriculum in Education Innovation and Teaching (ASCENT) program was developed by the ASE Simulation Committee. ASCENT is designed to share expertise of leaders in surgical education on topics relevant to education of simulation and other similar modalities. We hope to reach a broad audience interested in improving knowledge around surgical education as well as building community and mentorship opportunities.
Target Audience
This program will be open to anyone who is a surgical resident, simulation fellow, and junior faculty (within 5 years of starting faculty appointment). The total number of attendees will be capped at 50 participants for this pilot year.
Delivery Method
This program will be a year-long simulation/education curriculum that is based off monthly didactic series from renowned lecturers that will hit on key topics, which will fill a gap in the current system. Each monthly session will be a 60-minute Zoom meeting with a 40-minute presentation, followed by 20 minutes of Q&A.
ASE Membership
It is recommended that program participants be ASE Members in good standing, but membership is not required.
Assessments
Program participants will be required to complete a post session assessment for each session. This will also be the method to track attendance.
Certificate
The participant will receive a certificate via email. For certification, participants must attend 80% of sessions with evidence of active participation (including completion of the assessment).
Program Director:
Ming-Li Wang, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
The University of New Mexico
Dr. Wang joined the Division of Acute Care Surgery at UNM in 2012 and has an active clinical practice in Trauma, Emergency General Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care. She was the Surgery Clerkship Director at UNM School of Medicine for 7 years and developed innovative curricula for the undergraduate medical education program. She served on the curriculum committee, led the fourth year medical student bootcamp, and was the director of ATLS for many years. She is currently the Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for UNM Department of Surgery and an active member in the national Association of Surgical Education, Association of Academic Surgeons, Western Surgical Association and American Board of Surgery.
2023-2024 Curriculum
Please note that all times are in Eastern and may be subject to change.
| Simulation Education Research- Introduction to Statistics/Qualitative Methodology September 18, 2023 10:00AM-11:00AM Eastern  Faculty: Anip Joshi, MBBS, MS Chief Consultant Surgeon and Associate Professor Bir Hospital, National Academy of Medical Sciences Dr. Anip Joshi, MBBS, MS, FACS, is Chief Consultant Surgeon and Associate Professor at Bir Hospital, National Academy of Medical Sciences in Nepal. He is the Chief of General Surgery Unit and is Faculty of General Surgery Residency Program. He is First Class Officer(Level 11) under Ministry of Health of Nepal Government. Dr. Joshi is a Member Secretary of Institutional Review Board of National Academy of Medical Sciences. He is Chair of Association of Academic Global Surgery(AAGS)-Advocacy Committee, active member of International Society of Surgery(ISS/SIC), fellow of American College of Surgeons(ACS), executive member of Society of Surgeons of Nepal(SSN), and International Task Force member of Association for Surgical Education(ASE). He has experiences of working with Oxford University-UK, World Health Organization(WHO) and visiting University Hospital Basel, Switzerland, Peter MacCallum Cancer Center and Royal Adelaide Hospital, Australia, Ohio University-Wexner Medical Center, US and Max Superspecialty Hospital, India and he utilizes these experiences to improve quality of health care in LIC/LMICs. In recognition of Dr. Joshi’s work and commitment, he has been awarded the International Society of Surgery(ISS/SIC) award, Council of Science Editors award, Japan Surgical Society award and invited as faculty at Association for Surgical Education(ASE) 2021 meeting, Consortium Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Dr. Tom Hall-Dr. Nelson Sewankambo Mid-Career Global Health Award. Dr. Joshi has led numerous international collaborative research projects of global health importance and has been awarded a research grant for surgical service quality improvement. He has presented his work at conferences of American College of Surgeons(ACS)-QS, International Society of Surgery, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Association of Surgical Education, Japanese Surgical Society, and Society of Surgeon’s of Nepal and Towards Unity for Health(TUFH). Event description The workshop will provide a comprehensive overview of opportunities to engage in and how to get started with simulation educational research. Different study types will be discussed in addition to common qualitative statistical concepts. An overview of societal and funding support will be provided. Multi-institutional collaborative project design will be outlined. Learning objectives a. Describe components of study design important to consider when seeking robust data collection b. Identify common barriers to appropriate statistical analysis and describe which analyses is most appropriate for a number of example scenarios c. Identify challenges in interpretation of statistical analysis of qualitative data and strategies to avoid common pitfalls |
| Adult Learning Theory Shifting Focus from Teaching to Learning October 12, 2023 1:00-2:00PM Eastern  Faculty: Joon Shim, MD, MPH Program Director for General Surgery Residency Program Bassett Healthcare Network Dr. Joon K. Shim is a fellowship-trained minimally invasive and bariatric surgeon at Bassett Healthcare Network and Columbia-Bassett Program. As the first female program director at Bassett, she plays an integral part in the education of her surgery residents and the surgical residency training program. She completed her undergraduate degree magna cum laude in Philosophy at Bryn Mawr College in 2000. She earned both her medical degree as well as her master’s degree in public health in a four-year dual program from George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She completed her residency in general surgery at the University of Massachusetts and a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery and bariatric surgery at Brown University. She joined the US Army after 9/11 in 2002. She served as an active duty Army surgeon and completed two tours as a combat trauma surgeon for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. She was awarded the Army’s Meritorious Service Medal. In addition to patient care, Dr. Shim is actively engaged and passionate about medical education and teaching both medical students and surgery residents. In January 2020, she received the Harvard Macy Institute Art Museum-based Health Professions Education Fellowship. Additionally, she has implemented a longitudinal year-long leadership course for surgical residents where they meet monthly for two hours to review “Choosing Leadership.” Although she strongly believes in technical excellence and clinical judgment, as a surgeon, she thinks she has been given a number of unique opportunities to make important contributions to medical education. Her foundation in the liberal arts guides her towards a multidisciplinary approach in medical education and surgery. She would like to uncover the hidden curriculum’s impact resulting from emerging technology and its effect on the non-technical skills in medical education. Her interest in utilizing cross-discipline innovations is to effectively change and adapt medical education to contemporary medical practice as she trains the next generation of physicians, emphasizing technical and non-technical skills for the best possible patient care. She completed the American College of Surgeons Certificate in Applied Surgical Education Leadership in 2020. Event description This workshop introduces the participant to principles relating to adult learning, including description of prominent theories and concepts. Discussion will center around how these relate to teaching strategies. Areas covered will include behaviorism, cognitive information processing, constructivism, learning and memory, motivation and self-regulation in adult learning. Learning objectives a. Describe principle theories relating to adult learning b. Identify how adult learning theories relate to the participant’s current teaching strategies c. Identify areas of the participant’s teaching strategies in which adaption can allow these to be centered around principles of adult learning |
| Diffusion of Innovation Theory: Application to Educational Leadership October 17, 2023 1:00-2:00PM Eastern  Faculty: Karen Dickinson, MBBS BSc MD MEd CHSE FRCS Assistant Professor, Director of Interprofessional Simulation Education and Clinical Skills Training UAMS Dr. Karen Dickinson is an Assistant Professor of Surgery and the Director of Interprofessional Simulation Education and Clinical Skills Training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, AR. She is also the Surgical Director of the Focused American College of Surgeons-Accredited Educational Institute (ACS-AEI), UAMS Centers for Simulation Education. She completed her surgical training in both the UK and US and has completed a General Thoracic Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester. Subsequently she completed an ACS-AEI Surgical Simulation Fellowship at the Houston Methodist Institute for Technology Innovation and Education. She matriculated with Honors from the University of Houston with a Masters in Education. Her research interests include interprofessional simulation education, patient education and virtual learning. Event description The workshop introduces the participant to theories of diffusion of organizational change and pertinent literature. The learning event will highlight the practices of leaders who guide change on an organizational level at educational institutions. Learning objectives a. Describe theories of diffusion of organizational change b. Apply the principles of theories of diffusion of organizational change to design a safe to fail experiment addressing an important aspect of the participant’s practice c. Develop a strategy for durable changed based on the results of the safe-to-fail experiment |
| Instructional Design and Instructional Evaluation Session 1: November 9, 2023 3:00-4:00PM Eastern Session 2: November 28, 2023 3:00-4:00PM Eastern  Faculty: Jamie Robertson, PhD, MPH Director of Innovation in Surgical Education Brigham and Women’s Hospital Dr. Jamie M. Robertson is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and the Direction of Innovation in Surgical Innovation in the Department of Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She drives efforts within the surgery department to develop curricula and assessments to support medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty. Additionally, she serves on the leadership of multiple teaching and clinical research courses within the Harvard Medical School’s Postgraduate Medical Education portfolio. Nationally, she is an Associate Editor for the Healthcare Simulation Dictionary and a leader in simulation design and implementation She is one of the first fifty individuals to earn the designation of Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator-Advanced. Dr. Robertson’s funded research involves studying teamwork and communication between members of medical teams in both terrestrial and deep space environments. Dr. Robertson completed her undergraduate education at Seattle University before earning her MPH in Behavioral and Community Health Sciences and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Event description The workshop will discuss the major components of instructional development. Participants will brainstorm designing a stand-alone instructional module that could be used in their educational environment. The workshop will discuss educational evaluation and theories pertaining to this. The workshop will discuss how to assess outcomes of learning events and plan evaluation strategies. Participants will brainstorm how to best apply these strategies to instructional evaluation at their institution. Learning objectives a. Identify the major components of instructional development b. Create an outline for an instructional module that could be used in the participants institution for education c. Describe best practices for evaluating instructional design and apply them to the educational module created by the participant within the workshop |
| Learner Assessment and Giving Feedback December 7, 2023 3:00-4:00PM Eastern  Faculty: Barbara Pettitt, MD, MHPE Director of Medical Student Education Emory University School of Medicine Department of Surgery Dr. Pettitt attended Central College in Pella, Iowa, and Northwestern University Medical School. She completed General Surgery residency at Los Angeles County – University of Southern California Medical Center and Pediatric Surgery fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She has been a pediatric surgeon at Emory University in Atlanta since 1985, 25 of those as Chief of Pediatric Surgery for the Grady Health System. She obtained her Master’s in Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is currently Professor of Surgery and Director of Medical Student Education in the Emory Department of Surgery. She was the M3 Surgery Clerkship Director from 2001-23 and the M4 Surgery Sub- Internship Director from 2004-18. She is now Associate Director of both, as well as directing the M4 Surgery Electives and Visiting Students program, the annual month-long Surgical Anatomy, Embryology and Operative Techniques Course (an intense prep course for M4’s going into surgery), the M4 Applicant Prep Program, and the M4 Capstone “Residents as Teachers” module. She serves on several ACS national education task forces, a National Board of Medical Examiners’ Step 3 Item Review Committee and numerous committees in the Association for Surgical Education. Among her awards are the Association for Surgical Education’s Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award, the Association of Women Surgeons’ Olga Jonasson Distinguished Member Award, the Emory Dean’s Teaching Award and the Emory School of Medicine Evangeline T. Papageorge Award for Distinguished Teaching. She has been voted Best Clerkship Director by several Emory SOM classes. She serves on the boards of several Atlanta-area non-profits as well as her alma mater, Central College, sings in a community chorus and her church choir, and enjoys spending time with her three adult children, who all seem to have turned out well in spite of (or maybe because of!) having a surgeon for a mother! Event description This workshop describes the principles of formative and summative learner assessment and the utilization of assessment for learning in medical education. Discussion will include validated assessment tools. The workshop will discuss the importance of feedback delivery, and strategies to optimize the process including methods to overcome challenges and barriers to feedback delivery Learning objectives a. Describe the different forms of learner assessment b. Describe strategies for giving learner feedback e.g. Pendleton rules, feedback sandwich, ARCH and outline the benefits and limitations of each c. Identify challenges in delivering feedback in participant’s own practice and apply strategies to optimize performance in this area |
| Curriculum Development Part 1 (Kerns Steps 1-3) January 9, 2024 5:00-6:00PM Eastern  Faculty: James N. Lau, MD, MHPE Professor of Surgery and Medical Education Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Dr. Lau currently serves as the Vice Chair of Education and the Division Director of Minimally Invasive/Bariatric and Community Surgery for the Department of Surgery. He is a Professor of Surgery and Medical Education at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine where he also attended medical school and completed his surgery internship. He completed his fellowship training in Minimally Invasive, Bariatric, and Robotic Surgery at Stanford. He received his Master’s in Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois, Chicago. He has been active in medical education for over twenty years. He enjoys the mentorship from and the mentoring of surgeons, trainees, and educators. Event description The workshop will allow participants to gain a better understanding of the curricula development process and how to participate in the circular process of development, assessment and renewal. This will be structured around Kern’s six steps of curricular development. Learning objectives a. Describe problem identification and strategies to achieve this b. Describe general and targeted needs assessments and identify the most appropriate methods to achieve this within the participant’s educational environment c. Describe development of goals and objectives with reference to Bloom’s taxonomy |
| Curriculum Development Part 2 (Kerns Steps 4-6) January 30, 2024 5:00-6:00PM Eastern Faculty: James Lau, MD Professor of Surgery and Medical Education Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Dr. Lau currently serves as the Vice Chair of Education and the Division Director of Minimally Invasive/Bariatric and Community Surgery for the Department of Surgery. He is a Professor of Surgery and Medical Education at the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine where he also attended medical school and completed his surgery internship. He completed his fellowship training in Minimally Invasive, Bariatric, and Robotic Surgery at Stanford. He received his Master’s in Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois, Chicago. He has been active in medical education for over twenty years. He enjoys the mentorship from and the mentoring of surgeons, trainees, and educators. Event description The workshop will allow participants to gain a better understanding of the curricula development process and how to participate in the circular process of development, assessment and renewal. This will be structured around Kern’s six steps of curricular development. Learning objectives a. Identify the most appropriate educational strategies for a range of curricular goals and objectives b. Describe methods and processes for curricular implementation and situations that may be best suited to piloting curricula or implementation c. Identify appropriate curricular evaluation strategies for a range of simulation based example curricula through small group discussion |
| Briefing and Debriefing February 1, 2024 4:00-5:00PM Eastern  Faculty: John Paige, MD Professor of Clinical Surgery LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine John Paige, MD, is Professor of Clinical Surgery with appointments in Anesthesiology and Radiology at the LSU Health New Orleans (NO) School of Medicine (SOM). He is past Chair of the Development Committee for ASE as well as a past Chair of the Simulation Committee. He currently serves as a member of the ASE Program Committee. He is Director of the ACS AEI LSU Health NO SOM Learning Center. His areas of clinical interest include abdominal wall reconstruction, foregut surgery, endocrine surgery, and bread and butter general surgery. Research interests include simulation-based skills training, inter-professional education, team training, human factors, patient safety, and debriefing. He has published and spoken extensively on these topics.  Faculty: Neal Seymour, MD Vice Chair for Education Department of Surgery Umass Chan Medical School – Baystate Neal Edward Seymour, MD, is the Surgery Residency Program Director for Umass Chan Medical School – Baystate in Springfield, Massachusetts and Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Surgery for Baystate Health. He received his undergraduate and medical education at Columbia University and surgical training at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, NY. His current faculty appointment is as Professor of Surgery at the Umass Chan Medical School – Baystate. In addition to clinical surgery, his current efforts are devoted to the training needs of new surgeons. His academic work has focused on the use of various simulation methods in surgical training, as well as the measurement of surgical skills for the purposes of professional development and high-stakes testing. He has authored numerous scientific papers and other works on these subjects. He also serves as Director of the Baystate Simulation Center – Goldberg Surgical Skills Lab and is a member of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. Event description The workshop will discuss the importance of debriefing for learning, and how an effective brief sets expectations for engagement, buy in to the fiction contract and establishes and maintains psychological safety. The facilitator role in the debrief will be outlined and debriefing methods such as PEARLS, debriefing with good judgement, advocacy inquiry , plus delta and 3D methods. Learning objectives a. Identify elements of the brief that are important to ensure successful debriefing b. Describe methods for debriefing and identify which the participant favors in their practice, for which type of simulation and why c. Create a debrief template for a proposed simulation educational event and identify challenges or potential issues and develop strategies to ensure an effective debrief occurs |
| In Situ Simulations and Virtual Simulations March 6, 2024 3:00-4:00PM Eastern  Faculty: Taylor Williams, MD Former ACS-AEI Surgical Simulation and Education Research Fellow, General Surgery Chief Resident University of Texas Medical Branch Taylor Williams, MD, is a general surgery chief resident at the University of Texas Medical Branch. In 2021, he graduated from the American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institute Surgical Simulation and Education Fellowship at the UTMB Laboratory for Surgical Training, Assessment, and Research (LSTAR). He is also a graduate of the ASE Surgical Education Research Fellowship. He is a published researcher with a focus on virtual simulation for training both technical and non-technical skills to both trainees and practicing surgeons. He developed the pedagogical method called Tele-Education Assisted Mentorship in Surgery (TEAMS) and has established international virtual simulation courses using TEAMS.  Faculty: Rui-Min Mao, MD Former ACS-AEI Surgical Simulation and Education Research Fellow, General Surgery Resident University of Texas Medical Branch Rui-Min (Diana) Mao, MD, is a general surgery resident at the University of Texas Medical Branch who graduated from the American College of Surgeons Accredited Education Institute (ACS-AEI) Surgical Simulation and Education Fellowship in 2023. She received her medical education from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she first became interested in education after serving as a teaching assistant and mentor for junior medical students. During her general surgery residency, she expanded on her interest in surgical education through her fellowship and researched remote and virtual education and mentorship. She has presented at several national meetings including the ACS Surgical Simulation Summit and Association of Surgical Education annual meeting and is excited to share her work through the ASCENT program. Event description This workshop will discuss the definition of in situ simulation and best practices for safe application of this pedagogical approach. The challenges of implementing this including buy-in, resources and clinical service provision will be discussed as well as strategies to ensure success of this approach. Learning objectives a. Describe the key components of an in situ simulation event b. Identify safety hazards within an in situ simulation educational environment and apply current best practice evidence to ensure a safe learning environment c. Identify local learning gaps in which an in situ simulation approach may be useful and describe approaches to implement these efforts |
| Application of Simulators to Surgical Education – Human Patient Simulators March 18, 2024 3:00-4:00PM Eastern  Faculty: Hahn Soe-Lin, MD, MS Associate Professor of Surgery St Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center / Creighton University SOM-Phoenix Dr. Soe-Lin is a double board certified trauma surgeon, emergency general surgeon, and surgical critical care intensivist. He completed his medical school at Georgetown University, a general surgery residency at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, and a fellowship in trauma and surgical critical care at the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL. He is currently an associate professor of surgery at Creighton University School of Medicine’s Phoenix Regional Campus and faculty staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST), and holds committee memberships at the Association for Surgical Education and the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma. He is the clinical simulation director at Creighton School of Medicine-Phoenix where he oversees simulation for both clinical medical students as well as surgical and medical residents. He holds a longstanding interest outcomes, translational, and pedagogical research in trauma, surgical critical care, and medical education, as well as a decade long passion for the improvement of educating the next generation of physicians and surgeons. Event description The workshop will describe the utilization of mannequins or human patient simulators within simulation education. Hybrid simulation design will also be described and the benefits of this compared to mannequin/HPS alone outlined. The principles of HPS learning will be described and linked to methodologies for utilization of this simulation strategy. Learning objectives a. Describe the principles of HPS simulation education including those pertaining to teamwork, closed loop communication and utilization of teamwork tools for learning and assessment b. Describe the different types of fidelity with regard to simulation learning c. Identify the fidelity of range of HPS and explain how this can benefit and challenge simulation event efficacy in each scenario |
| Competency Assessment in Simulation April 2, 2024 5:00-6:00PM Eastern  Faculty: Ganesh Sankaranarayanan, PhD Associate Professor UT Southwestern Medical Center Ganesh Sankaranarayanan received his MS from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2002 and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2007, both in Electrical Engineering. From 2008 to 2015, he was involved in surgical simulator development and research at the Center for Modeling, Simulation, and Imaging in Medicine (CeMSIM) at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. From 2015 to 2021, he was the Assistant Director of the Center for Evidence Based Simulation at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, at Texas A&M College of Medicine. Currently he is an Associate professor in the Department of surgery with a joint appointment in biomedical engineering at the UT Southwestern Medical Center where he co-directs the Center for Assessment of Surgical Proficiency, which focuses on surgical simulation and surgical proficiency and the director of the artificial intelligence and medical simulation (AIMS) lab. He is a Surgical Education Research Fellow (SERF) from the Association of Surgical Education. His NIH R01 funded research is focused on simulation in healthcare, Artificial Intelligence for surgical education and assessment, surgical robotics, and haptics.  Faculty: Alexis Desir, MD General Surgery Resident UT Southwestern Dr. Alexis Desir is a PGY5 surgical resident in her second year of research in Dr. Sankaranarayanan’s Artificial Intelligence and Medical Simulation Lab. She has published and presented at national conferences on her work in virtual reality technical surgery simulation design and implementation. She plans to pursue a colorectal surgery fellowship and continue an academic career focusing on surgical education and simulation in colorectal surgery. Event description The workshop will discuss the importance of and core principles relating to competency based assessment, including discussion of entrustable professional activities. Through small group discussions, participants will brainstorm how to develop competency based assessments of learners within different types of simulation educational events. The concepts of learner evaluation and team evaluation will be discussed. Learning objectives a. Describe the key components of competency based assessment of learners. b. Identify approaches to incorporate robust competency based assessment into a local simulation based educational event or local research project c. Describe team based assessment tools and their application to competency based assessment within simulation education |
| Application of Simulators to Surgical Education VR, Haptic and Virtual Environments April 10, 2024 5:00-6:00PM Eastern Faculty: Ganesh Sankaranarayanan, PhD Associate Professor UT Southwestern Medical Center Ganesh Sankaranarayanan received his MS from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2002 and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2007, both in Electrical Engineering. From 2008 to 2015, he was involved in surgical simulator development and research at the Center for Modeling, Simulation, and Imaging in Medicine (CeMSIM) at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. From 2015 to 2021, he was the Assistant Director of the Center for Evidence Based Simulation at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, at Texas A&M College of Medicine. Currently he is an Associate professor in the Department of surgery with a joint appointment in biomedical engineering at the UT Southwestern Medical Center where he co-directs the Center for Assessment of Surgical Proficiency, which focuses on surgical simulation and surgical proficiency and the director of the artificial intelligence and medical simulation (AIMS) lab. He is a Surgical Education Research Fellow (SERF) from the Association of Surgical Education. His NIH R01 funded research is focused on simulation in healthcare, Artificial Intelligence for surgical education and assessment, surgical robotics, and haptics. Event description The workshop will introduce the participants to the concepts and components of virtual reality simulations and identify ways in which these can be utilized for learning within surgical education. Virtual reality platforms used within simulation education will be discussed. Participants will receive expert advice about how best to incorporate these strategies into local simulation education and challenges and feasibility of this. Learning objectives a. Describe components of virtual reality and the platforms available to support surgical simulation education b. Identify a local simulation education event that may be suitable to incorporate VR simulation and describe a strategy for implementation of this c. Describe challenges to VR simulation education and how to deal with this |
| Validity Evidence in Simulation May 8, 2024 5:00-6:00PM Eastern  Faculty: Matthew Ritter, MD, MHPE Director, General Surgery Residency Program & Surgical Skills Lab Indiana University School of Medicine Dr. Ritter is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy (BS,1993), the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (MD,1997), and University of Illinois, Chicago (Master’s in Health Professions Education (MHPE, 2020). He completed a general surgery residency at UC Davis/David Grant AF Medical Center (2002), and a Fellowship in both Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery (2004) and Surgical Simulation Research (2003) at Emory University. His program of research focuses on applying simulation solutions, and theory founded assessments to surgical education, and he is an active member of the Association for Surgical Education (ASE), the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Americas Hernia Society (AHS), the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS), and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) where he has led multiple education-based programs and committees. He has served as a Clerkship Director, Residency Program Director (two programs), Education Fellowship Program Director (18 Fellows), and Vice Chair for Education. He is now Professor of Surgery and Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program, Director of the Surgical Skills Lab, and Director of the Comprehensive Hernia Program in the Department of Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Ritter is a retired Colonel in the US Air Force and deployed three times in direct support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. His clinical practice focuses on advanced laparoscopic and robotic gastrointestinal, and hernia surgery.  Faculty: Christopher Thomas, MD General Surgery Resident Indiana University School of Medicine – Department of Surgery Christopher Thomas, MD, is a general surgery resident at Indiana University. A long-time tutor prior to beginning his medical education, Chris continued his tutoring in medical school, tutoring undergraduates and junior medical students through their medical science courses and step 1 preparations. Chris’s love for education did not stop once he entered residency. An avid teacher of medical students and junior residents, he opted to use his two years of professional development studying surgical education in the laboratory of Dr. Dimitrios Stefanidis and Dr. Matthew Ritter. He has since completed his Masters in Medical Education from the University of Cincinnati and plans to continue his education science pursuits into his career after training. Event description This workshop will discuss the application of validity frameworks to surgical simulation. Participants will receive an overview of the concepts of validity evidence for assessment. Common threats to validity will be discussed as well as strategies to best mitigate them. Learning objectives a. List the types of validity evidence b. Apply types of validity evidence to different aspects of surgical simulation c. Discuss the importance of validity evidence in assessment or instruction of technical skills d. Identify ways to minimize threats to validity in different surgical simulations |
| Practical Pearls on Proficiency-based Training May 22, 2024 5:00-6:00PM Eastern Faculty: Matthew Ritter, MD, MHPE Director, General Surgery Residency Program & Surgical Skills Lab Indiana University School of Medicine Dr. Ritter is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy (BS,1993), the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (MD,1997), and University of Illinois, Chicago (Master’s in Health Professions Education (MHPE, 2020). He completed a general surgery residency at UC Davis/David Grant AF Medical Center (2002), and a Fellowship in both Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery (2004) and Surgical Simulation Research (2003) at Emory University. His program of research focuses on applying simulation solutions, and theory founded assessments to surgical education, and he is an active member of the Association for Surgical Education (ASE), the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Americas Hernia Society (AHS), the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS), and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) where he has led multiple education-based programs and committees. He has served as a Clerkship Director, Residency Program Director (two programs), Education Fellowship Program Director (18 Fellows), and Vice Chair for Education. He is now Professor of Surgery and Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program, Director of the Surgical Skills Lab, and Director of the Comprehensive Hernia Program in the Department of Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Ritter is a retired Colonel in the US Air Force and deployed three times in direct support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. His clinical practice focuses on advanced laparoscopic and robotic gastrointestinal, and hernia surgery. Faculty: Dom Doster, MD Surgery-General Surgery, PGY 3 Indiana University School of Medicine Event description This workshop will discuss practical pearls for creating and implementing a curriculum using proficiency-based training (PBT). PBT based curricula can be used to train surgeons to perform procedures in the interest of quality, value, and patient safety. Participants will receive expert advice on how best to incorporate PBT concepts into simulation curricula and navigate common challenges and feasibility issues. Learning objectives a. Describe key aspects of the proficiency-based training (PBT) conceptual framework b. Identify the expected benefits of a PBT simulation curriculum in the development of technical skills c. Identify strategies to navigate common challenges and feasibility issues when implementing PBT in simulation education |
| Standardized Patients June 11, 2024 5:00-6:00PM Eastern Faculty: Christie Bialowas, MD Associate Professor Albany Medical Center Dr. Bialowas is a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon focusing on orthoplastic surgery and complex reconstruction. She has presented at ASE on topics ranging from conflict resolution, mentorship, coaching and dealing with micro aggressions all through the use of simulation. She designed a patient simulation curriculum for her residents helping to develop the soft skills often missed in residency training and has utilized this to help struggling residents. Event description The workshop will discuss best practices for development of simulation scenarios utilizing SPs, how SP training is conducted and how best to approach implementation and evaluation of SP case development. Learning objectives a. Identify simulation educational scenarios suitable for SP involvement b. Describe best practices for training SPs both to participate in the simulation and the debriefing c. Describe creation of an SP simulation scenario and evaluation |
| Interprofessional and Interdisciplinary Simulation July 11, 2024 2:00-3:00PM Eastern  Faculty: Jennifer Calzada, MA, MPH Director of Simulation Tulane School of Medicine Jennifer A. Calzada, MA, MPH, CHSE, has been the Director of Simulation for the Tulane School of Medicine since its inception in 2008, and a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer since 2010. She has a BA in Communications (Loyola University), MA in Media Studies (The New School, New York), MPH in Global Environmental Health (Tulane University). She is certified in Human Centered Design Thinking for Healthcare, Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (Society for Simulation in Healthcare), and is a Certified Leadership and Resilience Coach (Tulane University Leadership Institute). She has experience and expertise in communications, team training, program management and assessment, simulation education, and curriculum development. She has authored book chapters in prominent simulation industry textbooks, including, Defining Excellence in Simulation Programs 1st & 2nd ed., Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Program and Center Development, and Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Surgery and Surgical Subspecialties. She holds international positions, including American College of Surgeons-Accredited Education Institute Site Reviewer, Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) Accreditation Site Reviewer, SSH Board of Directors (2021-2024), SSH Development Committee Chair, and American Hospital Association Center for Health Innovation Advisor. She is a Leadership and Resilience Coach supporting teams in the Tulane University Leadership Institute’s annual cohorts for the Emerging Leaders Program. Faculty: John Paige, MD Professor of Clinical Surgery LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine John Paige, MD, is Professor of Clinical Surgery with appointments in Anesthesiology and Radiology at the LSU Health New Orleans (NO) School of Medicine (SOM). He is past Chair of the Development Committee for ASE as well as a past Chair of the Simulation Committee. He currently serves as a member of the ASE Program Committee. He is Director of the ACS AEI LSU Health NO SOM Learning Center. His areas of clinical interest include abdominal wall reconstruction, foregut surgery, endocrine surgery, and bread and butter general surgery. Research interests include simulation-based skills training, inter-professional education, team training, human factors, patient safety, and debriefing. He has published and spoken extensively on these topics. Event description This workshop will introduce key principles of team-based interprofessional (IPE) and interdisciplinary simulation training. Participates will learn the TeamSTEPPS framework and three different validated non-technical skills assessment tools to enhance the value of IPE team training activities. Resources will be provided to aid participants in planning their own IPE simulation sessions at their local institution. Learning objectives a. Articulate the value of IPE and interdisciplinary simulation training b. Identify best practices for teaching and assessing non-technical skills in simulation c. Review self-assessment and team evaluation tools to assist with debriefing |
| Simulation Center Accreditation August 14, 2024 6:00-7:00PM Eastern  Faculty: Robert Rege, MD Professor Surgery, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dr. Rege is professor of surgery and former Chair of Surgery at UT Southwestern University. He is currently the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education in UT Southwestern Medical School. As an early proponent of minimally invasive surgery and simulation-based learning to teach surgeons and surgical trainees advanced laparoscopic and robotic skills, he was a member of the group that founded the ACS Accredited Education Institute (AEI) program. He is presently the Chair of the Accreditation and the Accreditation Standards Revision Committees for the ACS AEI program. Event description This workshop will discuss the importance of accreditation for simulation centers and describe the accreditation standards for ACSAEI accreditation, both focused and comprehensive. The workshop will also describe the process for application for fellowship accreditation and requirements for fellowship. Learning objectives a. Describe the accreditation standards for focused and comprehensive ACSAEI accreditation b. Identify the resources required to prepare for accreditation and reaccreditation processes c. Describe the standards that must be met for an ACSAEI accredited fellowship and resources required to maintain an excellent educational experience for local fellows |