VHA SimLEARN

Simulation Center for Innovation (SCI) Presents: SCI: Escape the (room) Simulation with Leadership

By: Jacque Cushard RN
Simulation Center for Innovation Program Director, Phoenix VA Health Care System

Nursing Leadership was called to the “Simulation Command Center (SCC)” on the 4th floor of the main hospital. They were tasked with “escaping the simulation.” Their mission was to gather into teams, break down the existing educational skills fair, take the equipment and simulation materials and equipment back to the Simulation Center for Innovation (SCI) Lab, build it back up, and all within a speedy time that the New Employees would not miss their New Employee Orientation: Nursing (NEON).

Once all teammates were gathered in the “SCC” they were instructed that URGENT news was left for them to read that stated “there is no one else left to save the day…the simologist didn’t make it back” and you need to set-up for NEON ASAP to:
• Choose a Team Leader
• Gather the equipment and materials in the RQI Lab or Lobby on the 4th floor
• Take equipment and materials back to SCI Lab
• Set the simulation equipment and materials back up before the NEON arrive
• Assess the mannequin capabilities by doing a Head-to-Toe Assessment and
• Configure the Word Scrabble

Why was this done? This began as a simple request from Nursing Leadership to demonstrate what the simulator (mannequin) has to offer such as nursing assessments (breathing sounds, heart sounds, pulses and such).

The SCI Lab took this small request and created simple objectives. The SCI Labs Objectives:
• First Objective: SHOWCASE the uniqueness of the Phoenix SCI Lab and what it has to offer
• Second Objective: CREATE an exceptional yet fun SCI Lab orientation using a team building experience
• Third Objective: CRAFT an Escape Room Experience or as we affectionately referred to it as an “Escape the (room) Simulation”
• Fourth Objective: CELEBRATE the team’s success with a tag line
I ESCAPED the (room) SIMULATION! with photo opportunity.

After the team successfully escaped the simulation, they were gathered (while maintaining proper social distancing) to debrief about their experience, provide feedback, and give accolades to teammates.

The Phoenix SCI Lab received its 2nd nation Simulation Certification: Basic Tier award by the National SimLEARN Center in early December 2020. With the prestigious recognition, the SCI Lab is honored to continue to support the needs of the Phoenix VA through dynamic and innovative creative ways using simulation concepts as its foundation.

The Simulation team planned this event for Dec 4, 2020. With a little over 15 hours of planning time to bring the details together, and the help of Medical Media (Photography and Graphic Art), we successfully brought together Nursing Leadership for a team building experience in the theme of an Escape Room all while having a little bit of simulation exploration.

The Phoenix SCI Lab welcomes you to see all the wonders it has to offer you and your team. Simulations can be in a variety of formats. Recent simulations include:
• Swift Sims: 2-minute Knowledge Assessment Simulations
• Mobility Simulations
• Cardiac Monitoring Courses
• Telemetry GO-Live Training Sessions
And so much more…

The Phoenix SCI Lab is committed to pioneering Veteran-Centric focused issues by providing proactive, patient-driven reality-based simulated experiences while strategically empowering the healthcare provider through fostering quality, dynamic and innovative simulations. Our goal is to provide a setting for engaging, educating, assessing, process improvements, and systems testing for the PVAHCS through insightful simulated encounters and experiences.

SCI Lab is available for all disciplines to enjoy. Schedule a visit with us.

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