Inaugural Meeting - New Orleans, LA May 17th 2009 (Sunday) 8:00am to 9:30 am - Cornet Room 8th Floor.
Dear Members of the SAEM Technology in Medical Education Committee and the SAEM Simulation Interest Group,
It is with great pleasure that I announce the formation of the SAEM Simulation Academy, which has been formally approved by the SAEM Board of Directors. The Academy recognizes the excellent collaborative work and national impact of the Simulation Interest Group and the Tech in Med Ed Committee (and preceding Sim Task Force) over the past several years—many thanks to you all. These two founding groups (IG and Committee) will merge into the Academy, effective with the 2009 Annual Meeting; this would effectively end the independent operation of these two entities and elevate coordinated work as an Academy.
Board approval for the Academy was based on an application submitted on behalf of the Committee and Interest Group, and tirelessly shepherded by Steve McLaughlin in response to a Board inquiry into the desirability/feasibility of this transition (many thanks to Steve). Over 100 SAEM members (and most of you) signed a petition advocating the formation of the Academy, which formed the basis for the application.
Those of you who applied to continue on the Committee for 2009-10, or planned to continue IG work, should now identify yourselves as members of the SAEM Simulation Academy. This comes with modest dues, and information on how to “join” will be forthcoming once the logistics are solidified. Should membership wane below a specified minimum, the Academy will be reviewed for relevance/continued operation. A proposed set of operational guidelines, drafted by Steve and modeled on the one other SAEM Academy (Clerkship Directors in EM) has been proposed and reviewed by the SAEM Board, and will be circulated by the Academy leadership.
The initial Academy leadership will be comprised of SAEM members who currently hold or have held leadership/officer roles in the SAEM IG/Committee/Task Force structure and within the Society for Simulation in Healthcare’s EM Special Interest Group (which draws heavily from SAEM membership). These appointments will remain in effect at least for the first transitional year of Academy operation—the first election cycle is planned to coincide with a future SAEM Annual Meeting, likely May 2010.
I am VERY pleased to announce that Rosemarie Fernandez will serve as the Academy’s inaugural Chair for 2009-2010. Rose has worked tirelessly on behalf of SAEM Simulation and we look forward to her leadership—congratulations Rose!! Here’s a listing of the initial Academy leadership team:
| Chair |
Rosemarie Fernandez, MD |
Medical Center Emergency Services Physicians |
| Vice Chair |
Yasuharu Okuda, MD |
Mount Sinai |
| Vice Chair |
John A. Vozenilek III, MD |
Northwestern University |
| Treasurer |
Ernest Wang, MD |
NorthShore University Health System |
| Secretary |
Michael D. Smith, MD |
Case Western Reserve University Metro Health MC |
| Newsletter Editor |
Christopher Strother, MD |
Mount Sinai School of Medicine |
| Panel Member |
Steven A. McLaughlin, MD |
University of New Mexico |
| Panel Member |
William Bond, MD |
Lehigh Valley Hospital |
| Panel Member |
Leo Kobayashi, MD |
Rhode Island Hospital Medical Simulation Center |
| Panel Member |
James A. Gordon, MD MPA |
Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital |
| Panel Member |
Linda Spillane, MD |
University of Rochester, Dept. of E.M. |
| Panel Member |
S. Andy Godwin, MD |
Shands Jacksonville |
We will have an Academy “kick-off” meeting together with the final Tech in Med Ed Committee and Sim IG meeting as a unified/transitional whole at the SAEM Annual Meeting in New Orleans on Sunday May 17, 2008, from 8:00-9:30 (Cornet Room-8th Floor), just prior to the AEM Sim Consensus Conference 1 year followup session 9:30-10:30. Look forward to seeing you all there.
This is a wonderful step forward, congratulations and many thanks to you all!
Best,
Jim
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James A. Gordon, MD, MPA
Director
Gilbert Program in Medical Simulation
Associate Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Department of Emergency Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital