There were many highlights associated with the 2011 SSH International Meeting of Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH). The Website Task Force (Eric B. Bauman, Renee Pyburn, Aurel Mihai, John Rice, Katie, White, and Allan Barclay) were honored with a Presidential Citation for dedication and hard work in support of SSH web environment. Also, the Website Task Force has officially been granted committee status. Eric will remain chair and Renee will assume the position of vice-chair. The Committee has also added longtime SSH member David Feinstein. David has served in numerous SSH roles.
Jeff Taekman (Duke University Simulation and Patient Safety Center) was presented with an award for his foresight and dedication in establishing the the Serious Games & Virtual Environments Special Interest Group (SIG). The award was given to Jeff during the annual SIG meeting. Jeff was re-elected to another two year term as co-chair of the SIG. Beth Bryant (DigetalMill and Games for Health) was elected as Secretary. Beth will be succeeding Aurel Mihai as he prepares to start medical school. Aurel’s service to the Serious Games & VE SIG and the SSH is to be commended. He has promised to lend a hand whenever possible. Eric B. Bauman will round out 2012 with the second year of his two year term.
John Rice had a brief reunion with “Priscilla the Simchilla” – but alas she has wandered off again. When John joined the SSH his profile picture on the SSH website included the very real Priscilla the chinchilla perched on his shoulder. During IMSH 2010 in Phoenix he brought “Priscilla the Simchilla” along to increase the psychological fidelity of his experience. Who knows where “Priscilla the Simchilla” will turn up next.
IMSH2011 exceeded even the Board of Directors expectations. Some 300-plus attendees registered at the door. More than 2300 people were in attendance. The VA system had a very strong presence with some 500 attendees. This puts the SSH membership
goal of 4000 by June 2012 within striking distance. I know this years numbers invigorated KT “4000” Waxman, the SSH Membership Chair.
Most amazing of all, SSH veterans and new members could be seen in impromptu discussions connecting with one another thoughout the conference. SSH is becoming increasingly more global. This has been the goal all along. Brazil, the UK, and many other countries had a strong presence at this years meeting.
While there were some attempts at social networking at last year’s IMSH, this year the trend seemed to be gaining some real traction. The hash-tag #IMSH2011 was introduced this year and built momentum throughout the conference on Twitter. The culmination of this phenomenon occurred with the well thought out Web2.0 and social media presentation given by Yue Dong from the Mayo Clinic.