IMSH 2024 Plenary Session: Kindra Hall, The Lou Oberndorf Lecture on Innovation and Healthcare Simulation
By: Kerensa Peterson, UCR SOM Center for Simulated Patient Care

Kindra Hall says she’s made a career out of telling stories. Why does storytelling work so well? And why is a storyteller giving a lecture on innovation and healthcare simulation? Ms. Hall had many answers for the audience during her address at the IMSH 2024 conference. Any time a word becomes a “buzz word,” like “storytelling,” it begins to lose its meaning. Ms. Hall impressed upon the audience that great storytelling requires an investment of time and energy. Stories connect people. They stick in our brains because our brains are programmed to meet the storyteller halfway by empathizing and creating or remembering our own stories as we listen to others tell theirs. 

IMSH 2024: Opening Plenary Speaker Michael Bonner
By: Janice Radway, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

IMSH 2024 in San Diego kicked off with a bang! The opening Chad Epps Memorial Lecture came from Michael Bonner, a dynamic keynote speaker who has been seen on The Ellen Show, NBC Nightly News and Time for Kids. He is the CEO of Bonnerville, the Michael Bonner Foundation, and a middle school teacher. He discussed what he calls Black Swan Events – unexpected moments that throw you off and become a catalyst for innovation. Covid is an example – think of all the companies that didn’t exist before that life-changing event. He shared 3 points that we all need for success: Intentional Relationships, Strategic Collaboration and Relentless Determination. Michael inspired this audience of over 4,000 people and made us laugh. I can only imagine how inspiring he is to his middle school students. Learn more about Michael Bonner and his work here.

IMSH 2024 Plenary Session: Duncan Wardle, The Michael S. Gordon Center Lecture on Medical Education
By: Samantha Syms, University of Miami Gordon Center

Duncan Wardle, Former Head of Innovation & Creativity at Disney began his plenary by asking the audience members to raise their hands if they considered themselves “creatives.” For those who did not raise their hands, he states that for adults, not being creative is an accepted fate. He then tasked participants to assume subject matter experts and exert our stance on eccentric issues: parachutes for elephants and sex therapy for bees and explain to our partners the importance of this topic. This activity illustrated the ability for us lean into our creativity without bounds and to be playful when developing big ideas.