Visioning Simulation Conference

The Visioning Simulation Conference (VSC) convened in Cambridge MA on April 19 – 20 and was attended by appointed representatives from STS, AATS, ABTS, TSDA, EACTS, ACS, NHLBI and TSFRE industry partners (Medtronic, Edwards Lifesciences and St. Jude Medical). In addition several attendees with extensive simulation experience and development were active participants.

Simulation has had a tremendously positive impact on education and certification in other areas of human activity where teams interact with technology in high risk environments, the best know of which is aviation. The TSFRE and the JCTSE believe that cardiothoracic surgery is an ideal specialty to demonstrate and evaluate the use of advanced simulation and other innovative approaches to quality and safety as a model for other highly technical medical specialties.

The conference began with a simulated OR demonstration by live video feed. Over the 2-day conference speakers presented simulation use in anesthesia, the airline industry, the ACS and computer simulation of congenital heart lesions. These helped to demonstrate what is available today and to stimulate thought among the participants.

The primary working function of the conference centered on a series of roundtable discussions planned to define how simulation could be applied to thoracic surgery education. A manuscript documenting the entire conference is being prepared with the goal of providing the comprehensive document to selected editors from each constituent organization for review by early summer. The final manuscript will be submitted for simultaneous publication in appropriate journals.

For more information contact the TSFRE offices at 978-927-8330.