What's happening in the CHSR?
Stay updated on news and events within (and beyond) the CHSR.
News
September 3, 2024
Within the landscape of post-secondary institutions, we typically associate the Fall semester with a new beginning; along with the start of another school year. Formerly known as the Professional Practice Collaboratory (PPC), the CHSR has been progressively navigating various upgrades to its: systems (e.g., Elevate Healthcare), spaces (physical and digital), and services over the past year. In a few weeks the CHSR is excited to re-launch itself, with an official celebration being planned for later in October.
To give some backstory, over the Summer the School of Health underwent a renovation project that aimed to transform the experience for students by: adding capacity for Clinical Skills labs; improving simulation spaces by adding new, customizable equipment that will provide an equitable and high-quality experience for students (this includes the addition of new debriefing spaces within the CHSR and an upgrade to our existing video capture technology); creating space to support the addition of Virtual Reality for School of Health programs; and accommodating increased enrolment in School of Health programs. In addition to enhancing the learning experience, the renovation entailed the in-fill of the previously open space above the library customer service desk to provide more floor space to both areas (i.e., the library and the CHSR). Within this post are some photos to give an idea of the 'before' and 'after'. The first photo shows the stairwell that previously connected the Simulation space with the Library downstairs, while the second photo shows half of the recently infilled space that now hosts one of the new dedicated debriefing spaces.
The CHSR has also been working towards improving its digital presence: through the imminent launch of an Official Instagram account and a dedicated webpage. With such front-facing platforms, the hope is to help build awareness around what resources and services are available through the CHSR and to better network with our future learners and community/industry partners.
October 22, 2024
The CHSR has been working towards establishing a cross functional committee to support simulation activity of all modalities within the School of Health (SOH). The Healthcare Simulation Committee (HSC) will provide strategic advice and essential skills needed to enhance simulation activities within the college.
The committee is dedicated to pioneering excellence in healthcare education through the integration of simulation best practices, fostering a culture of psychological safety, innovation, and promoting exceptional teamwork within a positive environment. Healthcare professionals work together in a team dynamic with the common goal of ensuring the most optimal and safe patient outcomes. Similarly, with the School of Health consisting of an extensive multidisciplinary program roster, one main goal is to rise above the tendency to work in silos, and instead serve as content experts for each other. The HSC will lead simulation planning, guide the implementation of continuous quality improvement initiatives, and evaluate and make recommendations in matters related to healthcare simulation at the college.
October 23, 2024
Ahead of this Friday’s Grand Opening ceremony, the CHSR was gifted an art-piece created by one of it’s very own Simulation Specialists (Lucky).
Utilizing some of the School of Health equipment/items that had reached their end-of-life and were otherwise identified for disposal, Lucky sought to give these items a second chance (and keep them out of a landfill), by repurposing them through art. As seen in one photo below, some of the more noteworthy items salvaged from the College were: a broken Baxter IV pump and tubing, phased-out glucometer test strips, and an outdated strategic framework board.
Combining these with his own craft materials such as moss, sand, miniature figures, acrylic, and resin (to name a few)- he spent a few of his own weekends, creating an art-piece that he titled ‘Found again’.
While Lucky has a more extensive backstory for this piece, his broad overview is that it depicts an archeological team in the midst of discovering a site of some ancient ruins that reveal a civilization and its lost technology surrounding hydropower and irrigation. If you’re ever in the CHSR, keep an eye out for this work of art and feel welcomed to ask more about its deeper lore.
October 25, 2024
On Friday Oct. 25, 2024 the CHSR celebrated its Grand Opening, showcasing some of the recent upgrades and renovations. We had formal remarks by Paul Armstrong (Mohawk College President), Wendy Lawson (Associate VP, Academic and Dean of the School of Health), Julia Hansen (Director, Simulation, Strategy, & IPL), and Mahir Singh- a recent graduate of Mohawk College’s Practical Nursing program. Here are a few photos from the event.
This event was also covered and featured in a few articles over the subsequent days. Check out these two posts from the ‘Inside Mohawk’ Newsletter: this post from Oct. 25 (Mohawk College unveils new Centre for healthcare simulation and research) details things more through a text-based review, while this post from Nov. 1 (CHSR at the IAHS) contains a nice highlight reel from the event. The Hamilton Spectator also featured us in a post on Oct. 28 (Lifelike simulations elevate heath care training at Mohawk College).
We later had the pleasure of hosting Dianne Martin (CEO, WeRPN) along with two of her daughters for a tour in the afternoon, and she left us with these kind remarks “Make sure you never turn down an invitation to visit this amazing Mohawk College SIM lab. The team here have such a wide variety of skills and were able to bring this place alive for me. At a time when nursing education is facing tremendous capacity challenges, this massive lab is helping nursing students gain high level skills. Congratulations Mohawk.”
October 30, 2024
Did you see us? We were on the News!
CHCH Morning Live came to the IAHS and did a little preview ahead of our Fall Open House. This video link 'Learn about the programs Mohawk College offers at their fall open houses' from their YouTube channel features CHCH Reporter Sean Cowan visiting a few of our School of Health spaces for programs such as: Medical Radiation Sciences, Diagnostic Cardiac Sonography, and Pharmacy Technician. While we recommend everyone to watch the full video -if you're short on time- you can find Sean’s visit with the CHSR around the 7:23 minute time-stamp.
November 11, 2024
The CHSR offers a wealth of opportunities for research. Over the course of this past year (2024), one such research project involved collecting clinical data from some of our simulation mannequins aimed at improving diagnostic accuracy using AI-powered signal processing. This was led by Yasaman Torabi, a PhD candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering at McMaster University, under the supervision of Professors Shahram Shirani and James P. Reilly. Yasaman explains that unlike real patient recordings, mannequin-generated data provides clean, controlled, and reproducible resources, making it an invaluable resource for training AI models, which is why she sought to collaborate with the CHSR in her research study.
According to Yasaman, a key innovation in this research is the integration of large language models (LLMs). LLMs, such as Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), contribute by providing contextual analysis of detected abnormalities, offering detailed explanations of signal anomalies—essential for clinical validation and decision support. Researchers like Yasaman are developing cutting-edge AI tools that not only assist clinicians in early disease detection but also enhance their ability to understand and trust AI-driven insights. The CHSR is proud to have been part of this collaboration, helping support improvement of the next generation of AI-powered clinical tools, which seek to transform how cardiopulmonary conditions are diagnosed and treated.
Events
October 15 to 17, 2024
'The MedTech Conference brings top industry executives and thousands of global innovators together, to showcase what they do best- put the future of health care in motion... and keep patients moving' (The MedTech Conference, 2024).
At this year's MedTech Conference, the CHSR is proud to be a part of Mohawk College's booth alongside Ideaworks, CIAMI, and CPA. Here are a few photos that we also shared on our Instagram account.
October 25, 2024
The CHSR's Grand Opening is scheduled for this Friday, October 25th. Join us as we celebrate the new strides we are taking towards supporting Healthcare Simulation and Research for the College's School of Health and beyond.
October 28, 2024
The CHSR is gearing up to run their pilot session of Virtual Reality (VR) simulation for the School of Health on Monday, October 28th. The initial study will span a period of six weeks, to better identify measures or processes that may need adjustment or implementation in the future.
If you are interested in finding out more information about what VR opportunities are available for your healthcare discipline / learner group, please submit a CHSR Discovery Meeting Form (found on the 'Connect with Us' page) with a description of what you are interested in.
