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The BCIT simulation team shares their transformative journey from siloed departments to a unified center of excellence, culminating in their recent SSH accreditation as Canada's fourth accredited program. Carrie Meager and Heather Epp reveal how leadership support, psychological safety, and human-centered approaches created their successful simulation community.

• Evolution from fragmented lab-based learning across 11 buildings to a coordinated simulation program with standardized practices
• Moving beyond skills training to develop critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and clinical decision-making
• Building psychological safety at every level creates an environment where innovation thrives
• SSH accreditation process provided structure while identifying areas for quality improvement
• Focus on human elements through their 40+ simulated participant program addressing communication challenges
• Creative approaches like "cakeable moments" and SimPath faculty development promote psychological safety
• Leadership support from deans and directors was crucial for success
• Innovative virtual simulations address costly consumables in programs like Med Lab Sciences

The BCIT simulation team welcomes connections through LinkedIn or email and can be found at conferences like SimExpo and IMSH. They're happy to share resources and support others building simulation programs.

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Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmarn/

Readiness quiz: https://emergency.scoreapp.com/

A staggering statistic opens this eye-opening conversation with Dr. Richard Marn: one person per day dies in the United States due to medical emergencies that begin in dental offices. As a board-certified anesthesiologist with decades of experience, Dr. Marn reveals the critical safety gaps in dental practices and how his journey from academic medicine to founding Blue Pacific Medical Simulation led him to address this overlooked public health issue.

Dr. Marn introduces us to the fascinating "beehive versus lone wolf" concept – explaining how hospital teams function collaboratively like beehives during emergencies, while dental practices often rely on the dentist alone (the "lone wolf") to handle everything. This fundamental difference in approach creates dangerous vulnerabilities when seconds matter most.

The heart of the episode explores Dr. Marn's innovative Four Pillars of Sedation Emergency Readiness: Infrastructure, Competency, Culture, and Habit. Beyond just having the right equipment or knowing CPR, these pillars address psychological safety, team dynamics, and creating systems where everyone knows their role in a crisis. Through compelling examples and practical insights, Dr. Marn demonstrates how dental practices can move from simply checking regulatory boxes to building genuinely effective emergency response capabilities.

Perhaps most valuable are the actionable steps dental teams can implement immediately – from five-minute huddles that create psychological safety to using Dr. Marn's free online assessment tool (emergencyscorapp.com) to identify specific practice vulnerabilities. His approach acknowledges the realities of busy dental practices while providing a clear framework for meaningful safety improvements.

Whether you're a dental professional looking to enhance your practice's safety protocols or simply someone curious about what happens when things go wrong in healthcare settings, this episode offers profound insights into saving lives when every second counts. Connect with Dr. Marn on LinkedIn to learn more about his work transforming dental emergency preparedness.

Innovative SimSolutions.
Your turnkey solution provider for medical simulation programs, sim centers & faculty design.

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Dr. Kristina Dreifurst explains how her revolutionary Debriefing for Meaningful Learning (DML) model enhances clinical reasoning among nursing students through structured debriefing techniques that focus on the relationship between thinking and action. She shares her journey from using early Mrs. Chase mannequins as a nursing student to developing a pedagogical approach now utilized in over 500 nursing programs worldwide.

• Dr. Dreifurst's simulation journey began in the 1980s and gained momentum in 2005 when she received new high-fidelity mannequins
• An experience at Disney's "It's a Small World" attraction sparked insights about generational responses to mannequins
• DML originated during her PhD studies when her assumptions about simulation fidelity were challenged
• The "four square" approach examines right/wrong thinking paired with right/wrong actions
• "Right action, wrong thinking" is surprisingly common even among experienced clinicians
• Reflection Beyond Action component helps students transfer knowledge across different clinical situations
• Co-creating knowledge through Socratic questioning leads to better retention than lecture-style debriefing
• Simulation's role is evolving toward competency assessment in addition to being a safe learning environment
• Dr. Dreifurst is transitioning to a new role at Vanderbilt as senior associate dean for academics

Stay current with simulation education research and development as the field continues to evolve rapidly. Our students deserve the best that we can give them.

Innovative SimSolutions.
Your turnkey solution provider for medical simulation programs, sim centers & faculty design.