A competition for simulation technicians with the aim of collaboratively sharing technological and operational solutions.
Welcome back to our Pub,
but today we also have new customers to welcome. So, allow me a few words to explain the menu of this particular Pub. Take a seat as well. Here you will have the opportunity to taste only one or two beers, produced in the best breweries in the world and you will always find different flavours according to the choices of our master brewer. This column was born with the intention of having a relaxed and carefree chat on published and selected articles concerning the world of simulation. There will never be more than one or two items because we don’t want you drunk!
Our brewmaster today proposes the tasting of an overseas beer. The beer in question is a fresh and slightly fruity blanche, perfect to cool off on these first days of summer. It is produced in a Las Vegas brewery: the SimGHOSTS, an unusual name for a brewery, but certainly the brewers who produced it know what it means to deal with heat…
The brewery SimGHOSTS was born from Lance Baily’s idea of creating a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting all those organizations in the world that use simulation to improve learning and patient care outcomes. In 2019 they produced this blanche calling it “Bug Buster”, again an unusual name for a beer, but the idea behind its creation is very convincing: to ensure that the field of simulation continues to expand, it is necessary to offer training opportunities to all those involved in it. This beer was created to train and encourage beginners, showing the approaches of the most experienced technologists to tech issues in simulation.
Imagine Bug Busters as an equivalent of the SimWars by SAEM Simulation Academy, of SIM Universities at SESAM or the Italian SIMCUP ©, but for technology specialists, is simulation technicians. The competition starts with groups of beginners who are assigned the role of simulation technicians. They are given tasks to be completed within 10 minutes, prior to a simulation scenario. Furthermore, the simulation room is designed in such a way as to generate technical problems, faulty equipment, and inadequate set-ups during the execution of scenarios. There are different rounds of competition depending on the level of the various groups. The number of correct tasks completed by simulation technicians is used as the main factor in determining the score. During each round, distractors are introduced to get time bonuses or bonus points by answering technical questions.
Currently many simulation programs work with a limited number of personnel, mainly simulation technicians, and therefore have developed through the use of hybrid roles. For example, clinical teachers can perform both the function of educators and simulation technicians, requiring training across all specialties.
The Bug Busters model makes up for this deficiency by allowing the evaluation, training and development of new technicians experienced in the field of health simulation.
I hope you enjoyed this tasting, I look forward to seeing you at the next meeting to taste new beers that will surely surprise you.
See you soon,
your Brewmaster
Crawford S, Monks S, Bailey R, Fernandez A. Bug Busters: Who you gonna call? Professional development for healthcare simulation technology specialists. Adv Simul (Lond). 2019 Jun 13;4:12.
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