By: Erin Walsh, Standardized Patient Educator, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL

Receiving a scholarship to attend the 2024 ASPE conference in Vancouver, BC, Canada, was a profound honor. The theme of this year's conference, “Inspiring growth, motivating change, and creating opportunities,” resonates with me during this time of intense change in politics, education, and training. This last year was challenging professionally when my mentor, Barbara Eulenberg, retired. ASPE helped me shift my focus from looking at these major changes in the negative to reframing them as opportunities for growth and change.

By Amy Rush and Samantha Syms

The ASPE Communications and Connections Committee took its name seriously when planning for the 2024 ASPE conference in Vancouver, B.C. To facilitate connections, create some fun activities and make memories, it was decided that a conference-wide scavenger hunt was in order. Committee members Renee Wadsworth, Amanda Fernandez-Acosta, Amy Rush and Samantha Syms designed the hunt and the ASPE board backed the endeavor. The scavenger hunt, open to all conference attendees, but completely voluntary, was facilitated using the Whova conference app, with which the committee communicated with attendees via the community message board.

By: Amy Rush, Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation at University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Our thirteenth ASPE president Dr. Lou Clark gave the ASPE president address during the opening session of the 2024 ASPE Conference in Vancouver, B.C. on Sunday, June 23. She began by acknowledging the work Jen Owens did as conference chair, not only for this ASPE conference, but for the past four years. She read a message on behalf of the current conference committee, thanking Owens for her, “exceptional service as the ASPE conference chair.” Clark then gave a talk called, “Our Story.” She highlighted ASPE’s mission and its members. We currently have 918 members from 44 countries and 65 are Canadian members! She recognized the 16 ASPE Board of Directors.

By: Mary Launder

The depth of extraordinary work and contributions given to the ASPE Community is highlighted through the annual awards presented to those outstanding members who serve the ASPE community. Eligible ASPE members are nominated by colleagues and coworkers and the nomination committees hold a standard fair and inclusive process. This 2024 awards ceremony was held in person in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on June 26^th, 2024.

By: Janice Radway, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

The Opening Plenary of the 2024 ASPE Conference in Vancouver started with a splash. Or should I say song? There was no PowerPoint. There was no one standing on the big stage with screens behind them. Instead, we were treated to Petula Clark’s “Downtown” and a dancing Janece Shaffer, along with two ASPE members who have some skilled dance moves. Of course we sang along.

2024 ASPE Annual Conference Scholarship Inaugural Recipients
By: Amber Snyder, Vice President for Finance

Each year, we get requests for scholarships to attend ASPE and we didn’t have a funding source for these opportunities. At the ASPE conference in Portland in 2023, we stretched our imaginations on how we could bring more member benefits and launched the ASPE Fund. The goal of the ASPE fund was to provide an income stream for grassroot donations to build a fund to allow us to continue to bring existing membership benefits to you all, but also expand our international reach, our SP community, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts.

By: Amy Rush and Mary Launder

During the past year, many people contributed to the work of ASPE and our profession in several ways. At the 2023 ASPE Conference, we recognized some of these contributions with two award ceremonies.

By: Amy Rush, Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation at University of Tennessee Health Science Center

We all remember preparing for our first ASPE conference. What sessions will I attend? Will I be overwhelmed with too much to do? What if nobody talks to me? What if I don’t like the hotel coffee?

By: Samantha Syms, University of Miami Gordon Center 

Belinda Fu, MD, is a family physician, educator, and performing artist based in Seattle. During the ASPE 2023 opening plenary session, Dr. Fu asked us to consider how we can thrive in this uncertain world. She shared her experiences with improvisation as a physician, patient, educator, and actor, and explained the power of improv to transform the way we move through the world.

By: Janice Radway, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

I had the privilege to attend the 2022 International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH), held in Los Angeles from January 15-19. I felt grateful to attend a conference in-person, and I felt fairly comfortable with the many protections taken to keep conference attendees safe. One of the most inspiring aspects of the conference is The Lou Oberdorff Lecture on Innovation and Healthcare Simulation. This year’s speaker was no exception. Erica Dhawan is the author of Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence and Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance.She asks the question: how do we create a better normal than pre-pandemic times? How do we connect more intelligently when 75% of face-to-face collaboration is non-verbal and currently, collaboration in teams is 70% virtual? When non-verbal cues are missed, we misunderstand quickly, argue more and walk away faster. She highlighted her idea of Connectional Intelligence, which is the capability to unlock new and unrealized value by fully maximizing the power of networks and relationships. She cited projects such as The Granny Project and Task Rabbit as ways that people have collaborated in new ways, across previously untapped communities, to solve a problem.

By: Janice Radway, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

I had the pleasure of attending the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare in January in Orlando. One of the highlights was attending the Lou Oberndorf Lecture on Innovation in Healthcare Simulation, featuring Ryan Leak. Leak is an executive coach, best-selling author, and motivational speaker. He spoke about Chasing Failure (the name of his book and humorous documentary about his attempt to qualify for the Phoenix Suns NBA team.) His message was to embrace failure, because we learn from our mistakes, and it brings us closer to our goals. We hold ourselves back when we fear failure, but failure is how we move forward. He made the audience of 4,000 attendees laugh and inspired us to chase some failure of our own.

By: Kerensa Peterson, University of California, Riverside School of Medicine

Tan Le is an internationally recognized innovator and entrepreneur. She gave the final keynote speech at IMSH this past January. While gaining recognition for her pioneering work in the emerging field of brain-computer interface, she is also known for her work as a social activist and public speaker. At the IMSH Conference, Tan Le focused on the bravery of her family and how her life experiences as an immigrant shaped her into the person she has become. Her story was inspiring and I was eager to learn more about her and her work after seeing her speak.

Author: Mary Launder, Rosalind Franklin University

I was fortunate to be able to attend the 2022 ASPE Conference “Celebrating Our History, Imagining Our Future”.  What an extremely special conference this past year, we were back in person!!! Looking back there was a wealth of remarkable contributions given to the ASPE community. One way this depth of extraordinary work is highlighted is through the annual awards presented to those outstanding members who serve the ASPE community. Eligible ASPE members are nominated by colleagues and coworkers and the nomination committees hold a standard, fair, and inclusive process. This 2022 awards ceremony was held in person in New Orleans on June 29th, 11:00 AM CST.

By Daniel C. Brown, Emory University

Monday morning in New Orleans, the first full day of ASPE’s 2022 conference included a plenary address from three prior ASPE Presidents: Tamara Owens, Grace Gephardt, and Rob MacAulay. The trio regaled the audience with stories from ASPE’s history, reminded the crowd of recent and current accomplishments, shared a vision for the future, and issued calls to action for ASPE members.

Submitted by: Janice Radway, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

It was a pleasure to be back in-person for our 2022 annual conference! One of the highlights every year is the review of published literature in SP methodology, usually run by Dr. Karen Szauter. This year, the job was handed into the capable hands of the Grants and Research Committee. Before they got into the literature, they gave a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Szauter, which culminated in a standing ovation for our esteemed colleague. The committee hailed this literature review as a “celebration of our work”. For 2021, there were 200 papers reviewed, narrowed down to 12 they presented in this session. 6 themes emerged from the work: SP Voices in Social Justice, Addressing the Gap Between Education and Clinical Practice, SP Professional Identity, Advancing SP Educators as Authors, SPs as Assessors, and Interprofessional Education/Program Improvement. A full list will be posted on the ASPE website and added to the existing bibliography here.

By: Janice Radway, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

I had the pleasure of attending the IMSH 2022 Keynote Presentation from Yassmin Abdel-Magied, speaking about “Transformative Leadership.” Yassmin is a Sudanese-Australian writer, broadcaster, and award-winning social advocate with a background in mechanical engineering. Yassmin is a globally sought-after advisor on issues of social justice, focused on the intersections of race, gender and faith. What struck me most about her was her sense of humor, her completely approachable style and her clever use of “costume changes” as a way to challenge assumptions based on appearance. She characterized confirmation bias and group think as “sneaky little buggers,” sharing her experience of being the only woman working on an oil rig. She outlined methods of marginalization; when difference is amplified, we impose stereotypical expectations, and the individual is tuned out. She advocates for the use of standardized decision-making tools to overcome unconscious bias and a focus on patient-centered communication to see people as individuals and not a member of a group. She encourages us to lean into our discomfort to make real, structural change.

Submitted by: Dan Brown, Emory University

The closing plenary for ASPE’s 2021 Virtual Conference was a surprise – three of ASPE’s past and present leaders spoke about where ASPE has been, where we are, and where we’re going. Conference Chair Jen Owens introduced the three speakers by talking about what she wanted out of the closing plenary and why it came together the way it did – she wanted to “leave the attendees reflecting on all the sessions they’d seen… to feel challenged by the thoughts of others they’d heard and feel connected to the work and the people that do it… to leave feeling encouraged, that drive to make change happen… to see familiar faces telling their stories.” She identified Mary Cantrell, Gina Shannon, and Carrie Bohnert (all former winners of either ASPE Educator of the Year or Emerging Leader) as the people whose stories she wanted told. So she invited them to speak, and the plenary came together.

Submitted by: Mary Launder, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

I was fortunate to be able to attend the 2021 ASPE Conference. What a special conference this year, it had so much depth and heart! One way this depth of extraordinary work and contributions given to the ASPE community are highlighted is through the annual awards presented to those outstanding members who serve the ASPE community. Eligible ASPE members are nominated by colleagues and coworkers and the nomination committees hold a standard fair and inclusive process. The awards ceremony started with the ASPE Emerging Leader Award which recognizes an ASPE member who has “worked in human simulation for less than seven years, made significant contributions at the ASPE conference and ASPE committees, and [are] recognized as up-and-coming leaders in the profession.” The award was presented to Cory Krebsbach.

By: John-Michael Maury, UC-San Diego – School of Medicine

ASPE Virtual Conference 2021 attendees were honored to receive the wisdom from opening plenary speaker Grace E. Henry, EdD. Dr. Henry is the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) at George Washington University. With over 22 years of higher education experience in the areas of Student Activities, Leadership Development, Freshman Orientation, Greek Life, Judicial Services, Residential Life, Student Organization Risk Management, Diversity and Inclusion, and Anti-Racism Education Dr. Henry presented us all with a vast array of information. We were very fortunate to have this proud native of St. Thomas, USVI share with us her knowledge and experience.

Submitted by: Janice Radway, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

One of the highlights at every ASPE Conference is Karen Szauter’s literary review. She presents highlights from research published in the last year in the field of simulation. It’s fast, it’s educational, it’s entertaining – and usually standing room only. At this year’s virtual conference, Ms. Szauter presented “We Stop for No Storm”, a title inspired by a telegram from the year 1900 during a storm at the University of Texas in Galveston. She has been presenting this session since 2011, and this year is scheduled to be her last.