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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?

Website URL:

https://ems-works.com/

LinkedIn URL:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/630796/

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

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What does it take to build safer clinicians, not just better test takers? We sit down with pediatric critical care pioneer and simulation leader Tonya Schneidereith to trace a career defined by curiosity, courage, and a relentless focus on patient safety. From early days as one of the first PICU nurse practitioners in the country to associate director of simulation at Johns Hopkins, Tonya reveals how mentorship, research, and design thinking shaped her approach to teaching and assessment.

We dig into her medication safety work using Google Glass to capture the learner’s point of view, exposing why accurate math still leads to dangerous IV pump programming when context is missing. That insight led to national recommendations on verifying dosage calculation competence and a sharper focus on debriefing. Tanya shares a memorable morphine case where most learners turned up oxygen as ventilation failed, and how a single probing question in debrief uncovered the real driver behind a “correct” action. The lesson is clear: simulation must illuminate decision-making, not just outcomes.

Tonya also opens the doors to SIMPL Simulation, the consultancy she co-founded to elevate faculty development, program design, and simulation operations. She walks us through a bold project with BSA LifeStructures and Wake Tech Community College: a true simulation hospital spanning EMS arrival, diagnostics, acute care rooms, an operating room, and a live MRI. It’s a blueprint for interprofessional education that makes teamwork the default. We then explore responsible AI in healthcare simulation, drawing on a new white paper Tonya helped shape. Ethical integration, transparent limits, and scenario design that builds judgment are essential as AI becomes part of daily clinical work.

If you care about better debriefing, safer medication practices, AI in nursing education, and simulation spaces that teach as powerfully as people do, this conversation will sharpen your approach. Listen, share with your team, and tell us the one change you’ll make in your next sim. Subscribe for more expert stories and leave a review to help others find the show.

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

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A near-drowning in the Norwegian fjords set a family on a path that would change how the world learns to save lives. We sit down with Jon Laerdal, Chief Product Officer at Laerdal Medical, to explore the unlikely journey from toy design to Resusci Anne, from classroom CPR to on‑the‑unit practice that measurably improves survival.

Jon pulls back the curtain on how evidence and guidelines have shaped Laerdal’s resuscitation portfolio and why RQI—Resuscitation Quality Improvement—now embedded in 3,000 U.S. hospitals, is redefining competency with low‑dose, high‑frequency training. We dive into the Safer Births program in Tanzania, co‑created with the American Academy of Pediatrics and Jhpiego, where frequent, team‑based simulations on the ward correlate with dramatic reductions in newborn and maternal deaths. The thread through it all is a simple, rigorous idea: put practice where care happens, make it frequent, and let data guide improvement.

We also talk about the tech landscape without the hype. VR and mixed reality bring decision‑making into virtual and blended spaces, while AI lightens scenario design and powers more responsive debriefs. But the payoff comes when these tools join a circular learning model—reading, skills, simulation, team training, and clinical practice—connected by actionable insights. That is where simulation evolves from a one‑off event to a quality improvement engine that exposes latent safety threats and closes the gap between training and therapy.

If more than half of global deaths stem from time‑critical emergencies, preparing responders everywhere is not optional; it’s urgent. Jon shares Laerdal’s goal to help save one million more lives by 2030 and offers concrete steps educators and leaders can take to build cultures of practice that stick. Subscribe, share with a colleague who champions simulation, and leave a review with one question you want us to ask our next guest.

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