Developing Educators for Simulated Practice in Healthcare (DESPiH) is the special interest group (SIG) of ASPiH devoted to creating a network of developing educators with an interest in simulation-based education across all healthcare professions.

This includes anyone starting to use healthcare simulation as a tool for learning, from students and postgraduate trainees through to experienced practitioners new to simulation-based education.

The core aim of DESPiH is to create a networked community of developing educators across the UK and beyond, allowing sharing of ideas and resources, and opportunities for collaboration.

DESPiH evolved from student ASPiH (sASPiH) in 2019, recognising the important contribution of all developing simulation educators both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Participation in the DESPiH network is free and does not currently require membership of ASPiH, although we would also recommend this.To get involved, please register your details here (tinyurl.com/despihmailing). You can also receive updates by following us on twitter @DE_SPiH, and for more information email us at [email protected].

Developing Educators/DESPiH Committee

Matt Aldridge - Chair

Matt is an anaesthetics trainee from Bristol with a particular interest in interprofessional simulation-based education for existing clinical teams. He is lead educator and co-founder of The Clinical Simulation Space at North Bristol NHS Trust (@SimSpaceBristol), and chair of the DESPiH steering group.

Kathryn Taylor - Secretary

Kathryn is currently working as a foundation year 2 doctor in Nottinghamshire and is planning to start Anaesthetic training in August. From an early stage she has been involved in various aspects of simulation, either through the pre-hospital care programme at university to student ASPiH. In her free time she loves to play hockey and go on walks with her retired greyhound.

Rebecca Hunter – Media Lead

Rebecca is a 3rd year nursing student at the University of Portsmouth with an interest in simulation and human factors. She presented at the 2018 ASPiH conference on a student’s experience of a simulated mass casualty event involving over 3500 participants and role players from across the emergency services. Following this she became an active member of the DESPiH committee. Key roles include managing the social media accounts and supporting research and training.

Alan Gopal – Executive Liaison

Alan is a trainee anaesthetist in Yorkshire and lead simulation fellow at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. His interest in simulation and technology enhanced learning began whilst he was still in medical school (HYMS). With the assistance of the executive committee he set up sASPiH during this period to recruit, retain and develop students from any profession within ASPiH. Following this, he was invited to become an executive committee member of ASPiH to continue his work for the Association. He also currently chairs the Early Careers Group of AoME after three enjoyable years on the national committee of JASME. He has a fledgling academic interest in large datasets.
Whenever Alan manages to escape the hospital, he enjoys reading, taking apart expensive equipment that he really shouldn’t, exploring Yorkshire, and a bit of archery.

Chaamanti Sivakumar – Student lead

Chaamanti is a Foundation year 1 doctor in South London. Chaamanti has been involved with simulation since medical school during which time she led student ASPiH. She continues to teach simulation to medical students at Croydon University Hospital. She continues to support student involvement through DESPiH. In her free time she enjoys performing as a classical south Indian dancer.

Katharine Jamieson - Committee Member

Katharine is a neonatal specialist trainee in the final stages of her training.  She graduated from Oxford University in 2006 and, following her foundation training, commenced paediatric and neonatal training in London. She spent an additional 2 years working in Melbourne, Australia. Katharine has a strong interest in medical education, specifically simulation, which she has pursued throughout her career, including completion of 2 simulation fellowships (one in Melbourne and one in London), and forming part of the London Paediatric Simulation Faculty Development Programme.

Chair: Makani Purva  [email protected]  Purva is President of ASPiH, an anaesthetist and a Director of Medical Education. She is the Chair of the Standards Committee of ASPiH and is the main author of the ASPiH standards for simulation based education. She is keen to receive feedback on the standards document and how it can support the development of high quality SBE for all healthcare professions.The opportunity to apply for ASPiH Accreditation of organisations/centres, programmes and individual faculty has now gone live.

For more information, please visit the Accreditation page

Download the ASPiH Standards and Quality Assurance SIG ToR

We are introducing a monthly ASPiH Tech SIG meet up, which will run online at 6pm on the last Wednesday of every month. Our first meeting will cover re-establishing the group and meeting the needs of SIG members, and then subsequent months will feature regular updates from ASPiH, HEE TEL and guest speakers on topics informed by our members, with opportunity to ask questions and have discussion about the latest tech issues. Contact [email protected] for info

Co-Chair: Chris Gay [email protected] 

Chris is currently working with HEE as part of the The National Simulation & Immersive Learning Faculty Development Project Team. his role is working with centres nationally to ensure that they are equipped with the resources and skills to keep up with the demands of emerging technologies and their role in providing education to our future healthcare workforce. Chris previously worked in Medical Education Technical Team Lead for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. He had over 10 years’ experience in working to enhance learning with technology, ranging from working with individuals to maximise their use of technology right through to project managing large scale technological installations. He is keen to be involved with regional and national roles to further the understanding of the difference that the learning technologists can make to healthcare education.

Co-chair: Vacant - please apply

The ASPiH TechSIG has been active since Oxford 2012, over 60 technicians have engaged at various conferences and the community continues to grow!

If you are interested in getting involved please contact Chris, we would love to hear from you!

Relevant documents:

ASPiH TechSIG Terms of reference

Other documents of interest uploaded by the Co-Chairs of the TECH SIG

The Silent Innovators

Results of a Survey-Based Study J.Nicklin 2016

Lydia Lofton has now stepped down from the role of Chair of the ASPiH Paediatric SIG.

We welcome our new co-chairs, Kirsty Brown, Kate Loughlin and Eleanor Nash.

ASPiH members from all professional backgrounds with in an interest in paediatric simulation are invited to join and contribute to this special interest group to encourage development and of high quality simulation initiatives across a range of environments where children are cared for.

The SIG Chairs would like to hear from anyone who is interested in joining the ASPiH Human Factors & Ergonomics SIG. They are keen to hear peoples ideas, experiences, or connections to share from their own practice or wider afield that might be of interest to this SIG community.

Members from all professions and industry are welcome, please contact Bryn or Al by email.

Co - chair: Bryn Baxendale [email protected]

Bryn is a Consultant Anaesthetist & Director of Trent Simulation & Clinical Skills Centre in Nottingham. He is the Immediate Past President of ASPiH, and is a member of the HEE TEL Steering group and the Learning to be Safer Expert Group. His primary interest is the application and integration of Human Factors science within healthcare educational curricula and also in clinical practice.

Co - chair: Al Ross [email protected]

Al is a Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors Expert (CErgHF) and Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health. He is a Lecturer in Behavioural Science at University of Glasgow Dental School and also the Human Factors Lead at the Centre for Applied Resilience in Healthcare at King’s College London. He sits on the Scottish Patient Safety Programme Steering Group for Dentistry in Primary Care and is on the Editorial Board of BMJ Simulation & Technology Enhanced Learning.

He is interested in engaging with people to discuss and develop many aspects of HFE applied to simulation and healthcare, especially with regards to using simulation to explore resilient systems, and HFE-based interventions that show improvements for patient care.

Chair: Michael Moneypenny [email protected]

Michael obtained an honours degree in Biochemistry before he learned the error of his ways and went on to read Medicine at the University of Dundee, graduating with honours in 2002. He spent a year and a half as a clinical research fellow at the University of Liverpool and honorary simulation research fellow at the Cheshire and Merseyside Simulation Centre. He returned to Scotland to accept a consultant post in Anaesthesia in 2011.

Michael was appointed director of the Scottish Centre for Simulation and Clinical Human Factors in June 2012. In 2015, the University of Liverpool awarded him an MD  in Medical Education entitled “Evaluating professionalism, teamwork and leadership in medical undergraduates”. His research interests include the power gradients in healthcare, systems approaches to patient safety and the most effective methods for delivering simulation-based medical education.

Michael is also vice-chair of the Scottish Clinical Skills Network.

Recents documents: Directors, managers and administrators SIG Terms of Reference

Unfortunately, Dr Jiv Gosai has relinquished his position on the ASPiH Executive Committee and also Chair of the Research SIG.

In the interim, if you are interested in joining this SIG please contact [email protected]

Read the ASPiH Research SIG Terms of Reference

Transformative Simulation Special Interest Group (SIG)

ASPiH Executive SIG Leads: Sharon M Weldon; Andy Buttery

We define Transformative Simulation as:

“A tool to transform health & care through collective understanding, insight and learning.”

Are you frustrated by delivering or wanting to deliver innovative simulation but are hampered in being unable to find a formal, conventional structure to describe, design and evaluate it?

Transformative Simulation could be the solution, the objective of this SIG is to contribute to making it so.

What is Transformative Simulation?

Transformative simulation is an umbrella term for simulation activities that are non-pedagogical, that is, they are not designed and structured around pre-specified learning outcomes. Instead, simulation is used to innovate, improve, intervene, involve, identify, include or influence (the 7 SBI’s). It can do several of these things at once and includes specific simulation applications such as translational simulation, simulation-based improvement, and simulation-based interventions.

Understanding the principles and components of transformative simulation will help you ask the best questions and chose the best criteria to design, evaluate and report your non-pedagogical simulation activity.

The SIG

The transformative simulation SIG will focus on the application of 7 rainbow Simulation-Based Interventions (SBI) in describing and understanding non-pedagogic simulation activities.

The vision for Transformative Simulation (TS) – and for this Special Interest Group (SIG) – is to support our Simulationists to:

Understand the concept and add to its development

Consider what primary, secondary, and perhaps tertiary SBI’s apply to a TS activity.

Utilise this knowledge in robust and rigorous design, evaluation, and reporting

Be able to search the literature more easily for relevant evidence, and to combine evidence

Contribute to the ongoing debate about the nature, breadth, challenges, and opportunities          of TS as a living and evolving concept.

Terms of reference

The purpose of the Transformative Simulation SIG is to form an inclusive, collegiate, group of people: service-users, technicians, educators, practitioners, subject-matter experts, and others who will build a collaborative community of practice involved in the study and development of Transformative Simulation. This means contributing to the growing body of knowledge by sharing insights, examples and knowledge to advance the field and our understanding of it.