Macy Foundation Grant to Help Shape Interprofessional Education (IPE)

Society for Simulation in Healthcare and National League for Nursing Facilitate Integration of Simulation-Based IPE into Health Care Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Arlington, TX — October 24, 2011 — The Society for Simulation in Healthcare and the National League for Nursing have received a $35,000 Presidents Grant from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation to organize two important events in 2012 that will focus on using simulation to educate students from all health professions to work collaboratively. The award will fund a meeting of key IPE stakeholders in advance of the 12th Annual International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH), expected to draw more than 3,000 interprofessional practitioners and educators to San Diego, CA, January 27-28. In addition, a session during the conference will focus on gathering information from a wider audience and getting response to the findings of the invitational pre-IMSH meeting.

The result of the Macy-funded IMSH pre-conference, it is anticipated, will be a white paper. This summary report will describe the unique perspective of each major stakeholder group, identify best practices associated with the use of simulation and interprofessional education, pinpoint gaps in knowledge, and articulate opportunities for further collaborations and research. Organizers hope to include representatives from all major health professions education groups, such as the Association of American Medical Colleges, and quality-focused organizations, such as the National Patient Safety Foundation.

"The Society for Simulation in Healthcare is the worlds largest organization of experts in health care simulation. That expertise, combined with the established strength of the National League for Nursing, makes us uniquely positioned to champion further interprofessional education in the health care community," said Beth Mancini, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, ANEF, president-elect of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and associate dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Texas at Arlington.

"The NLN is grateful to the Macy Foundation for its vision in funding a joint venture of two entities with the expertise, resources, and commitment to affect positive and sustainable change in interprofessional education in health care. We look forward to working as a team to produce outcomes of significant value to all stakeholders, including the health care education community as a whole, the Macy Foundation in its IPE-focused work, SSH, and the NLN," said NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

For more information and to register, please click here.

The Society for Simulation in Healthcare was established in January 2004 to represent the rapidly growing group of educators and researchers who utilize a variety of simulation techniques for education, testing, and research in health care. The membership, now over 2,000, is united by its desire to improve performance and reduce errors in patient care using all types of simulation including task trainers, human patient simulators, virtual reality, and standardized patients. Visit www.ssih.org for more information.

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 35,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members who represent nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education.