The very first French-speaking simulation training will be offered by the University of Montreal. Jointly created by the Center of Expertise in Health Simulation (EXeSS) of the Faculty of Nursing (FSI), the Center for Innovation in Nursing Education – Learning by Doing and the FSI Professional Development team, CertiSim will welcome its first cohort in January.
Lasting 13 weeks, this professional university training in health simulation is aimed in particular at CEGEP and university faculty, as well as health professionals in clinical and teaching environments. Given entirely online and composed of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, the training covers all the material necessary for organizing simulation exercises. The proposed activities will not only make it possible to design personalized scenarios and develop effective evaluation methods, but also to use simulation as a tool to improve the quality of patient care. “CertiSim responds to a need to have a single training course covering all aspects of simulation without losing sight of the realities of the professional health environment,” notes Haj Mohammed Abbad, director of the EXeSS Center and the clinic. -FSI school.
Although no university degree is currently awarded to simulation training, it was still important for Louise-Andrée Brien, associate professor of practical training at the FSI and designer of this new training, that people wishing to improving in the field obtains recognition. “More and more people today are called upon to participate, directly or indirectly, in simulation activities,” she says. As it is an experiential learning method, it seemed essential to me that the acquisition of skills as a trainer be officially recognized, since those who design, organize and lead simulation activities must have a solid foundation in pedagogy.”
An expected offer in French
Simulation has become a must in the health field in recent years, both in the clinical environment and in the teaching environment. Inevitably, the demand for specialized trainers has increased and at the same time the demand for various training courses for this purpose. Although several options were offered on the Canadian market, none, until now, was available in French. “By speaking with various people who regularly use simulation, I realized that many deplored the absence or inaccessibility of French-speaking resources for training,” explains Louise-Andrée Brien. This is how the idea of CertiSim was born.
Haj Mohammed Abbad, who has been involved in the project since the beginning, also believes that this training is timely in the market. “Although the field of simulation has been in turmoil for several years, with ultra-rapid developments of new technologies, we had the impression that the training offer in French had not kept up,” he laments.
As director, he is aware of the desire of health professionals to develop their current skills in the field of simulation and to seek out the necessary tools to do so. “Simulation as a teaching method is ubiquitous in clinical settings. Our hope, with CertiSim, is that a French-speaking trainer, regardless of their role related to simulation and their place of practice in the world, can not only find the necessary resources, in French, to train , but also acquire knowledge that is immediately applicable in your professional environment. The quality of health simulations will only improve,” he concludes.
