Ali is an Emergency Nurse Practitioner at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) Trust and a Teaching Fellow in DREEAM (Department of Research and Education in Emergency medicine Acute medicine and Major trauma), where she leads the simulation programme.

NUH Emergency Department is unique in having a cohort of approximately 40 SPs affiliated to it, who specialise in the simulation of acute illness and injury. Ali particularly enjoys applying make-up to enhance the realism of scenarios.  She has an interest in the quality assurance of SPs and the dissertation for her Masters degree in Medical Education focused on their continuing professional development.

The SPOTs (Simulated Patient Organisers and Trainers) SIG brings together those who work with SPs in healthcare education.   The generic term SP encompasses various role descriptors such as simulated patient, standardised patient, simulator, role player etc.  It also includes simulated relatives or healthcare professionals.Through regular communication and national meetings, the SIG shares best practice in this important area of simulation. We act as a strong advocate for the use of SPs (real people are surely the highest possible fidelity simulation!).  We work closely with other areas of simulation to advance hybrid and multi-modal practice.We would like to expand the SIG membership and create and support standards for the SP methodology nationally.  We are also keen to welcome simulated patients themselves to the SIG. There will be an SPOTs SIG meeting at ASPiH 2019 Belfast and we are planning an event in Nottingham in 2020.

Contacts - Membership is free to all ASPiH members but we would encourage anyone with an interest in SP work to get in touch [email protected]

Download the ASPiH SP SIG Tor 

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

Co-Chair: Chris Gay [email protected]

Chris is the Medical Education Technical Team Lead for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. He has 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: Jane Nicklin [email protected]

Jane has recently taken up the role of ASPiH's Operations Manager. She continues to work freelance, trading as SimSupport 'supporting skills and simulation' across the UK. She is an ODP by background and is a consistent advocate for the role of the skills and simulation technicians including the launch of the Regional TECH Champions and coordinating a funded HEYH pilot of skills and simulation Technician Apprentices in 2014.

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 or Jane - 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