An earthquake emergency unfolded inside Waipahu Intermediate School’s library in December, as part of a hands-on simulation designed to prepare students for healthcare careers and national competition. The exercise was designed and led by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s (JABSOM) through its Huʻakaʻi Program, giving more than 40 Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) students the opportunity to practice real-world emergency response skills.

Students assessed injuries, packed deep wounds, applied tourniquets and practiced communicating clearly with a 911 dispatcher as urgency and controlled chaos filled the room.

The scenario was created by Huʻakaʻi Program Director Jaimie Tom, an emergency medicine physician, with support from UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ JABSOM medical students.

Being able to share that knowledge with students who are interested in helping others is really meaningful.
—Monica Ho

“We wanted to support the teachers and the students as they prepare for the HOSA competition by providing the students an opportunity to practice a few of the skills they will be tested on during the competition using a real-life emergency scenario,” Tom said. “These students already have a strong foundation so our goal was to enhance their knowledge base and provide tips they can use for both the competition and also as aspiring healthcare providers.”

The Huʻakaʻi Program reaches intermediate and high school students across Â鶹´«Ã½, offering hands-on workshops and mentorship to spark early interest in healthcare and help address the state’s future workforce needs.

HOSA club president Althea Vinluan said the simulation gave students a realistic sense of healthcare work. “It shows you the reality of what healthcare professionals deal with,” Vinluan said. “You start asking yourself, ‘Is this something I see myself doing in the future?’”

Monica Ho, a JABSOM medical student said, “I’m really grateful to be where I am and doing what I love. Being able to share that knowledge with students who are interested in helping others is really meaningful. I didn’t have experiences like this when I was younger. I really wish I had. It might have steered me toward medicine sooner.”

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At the forefront of healthcare simulation innovation, Benjamin Berg, director of at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ (JABSOM), has been recognized with awards for his outstanding contributions to the field.

Berg was recently inducted as a fellow of the at the 2024 annual International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare. Additionally, he received a Presidential Citation Award from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare for his exceptional leadership in advancing healthcare simulation.

“Recognition by peers and selection for these distinctions is really a recognition of JABSOM,” Berg said. “Professional opportunities and my personal growth in the field of simulation entirely reflect the JABSOM ʻohana and student body, both of which nurture the community of practice from which many significant impacts emerge.”

Berg’s career spans over two decades, during which he has dedicated himself to the advancement of academic simulation through research, mentorship, education and training.

Under his guidance, JABSOM‘s SimTiki Simulation Center has become an international hub for healthcare students and professionals seeking cutting-edge training opportunities. Hosting numerous international students, the center has solidified its reputation as a premier destination for healthcare simulation education.

He recently convened the Inaugural Society for Simulation in Healthcare Asia Pacific Evolution Summit, which drew 21 delegates from eight nations at JABSOM in November 2023.

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The John A. Burns School of Medicine’s (JABSOM) at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ made history in September 2020 by becoming the first simulation center in the world to earn fellowship program accreditation by the .

“Fellowship accreditation is a distinction for our education programs, reflecting contributions of the entire team, especially the fellows who believed in the quality of our program and worked hard so we could achieve this recognition,” said Benjamin Berg, director of the SimTiki Simulation Center.

Opened in 2006, SimTiki (“Tiki” derives from the Polynesian term for “human”) is JABSOM’s simulation-based healthcare education center and facilitates more than 3,000 training encounters annually. It serves as a community resource for broad training needs ranging from high school students and medical students/residents to health professionals and military personnel, as well as its international programs, including in-residence research scholar positions and programs focused on faculty development and clinical skills.

SimTiki made headlines in 2015 as one of the first 10 centers in the nation accredited by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare for the fields of teaching/education and research. In 2019, SimTiki achieved additional accreditation in the area of assessment.

The road to simulation fellowship accreditation began in 2007, which involved the submission of extensive documentation and a panel site visit with interviews of the lab directors and staff, learners, educators and JABSOM organizational leadership.

Since then, SimTiki has trained 28 international fellows. Graduates include physicians and nurses from Japan, Thailand and South Korea, who spend one to two years in a post-graduate program focused on the development of educator skills. Fellows participate in educational research, teaching, curriculum development, and often complete the JABSOM Office of Medical Education fellowship in medical education.

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The University of Â鶹´«Ã½ (JABSOM) and are working together to help future paramedics gain confidence and skills in handling emergencies involving infants and children.

JABSOM and Kapiʻolani CC faculty have collaboratively developed and conducted the first Pre-Hospital Pediatric Paramedic Training Program to integrate with Kapiʻolani CC’s established . The course was made possible through a grant provided by the Â鶹´«Ã½ Pediatric Association Research and Education Foundation (HPAREF).

“Pediatric cases are such a small percentage of the cases they (paramedic students) are exposed to,” said Dale Oda, emergency medical services program director at Kapiʻolani CC. “This program gives them the opportunity to practice their skills in a controlled setting and get that kind of experience before they become certified paramedics.”

Gaining experience at SimTiki

As an EMT for the City and County of Honolulu, most of Cyrus Camp’s field experience has involved adults so, for him, learning with infant manikins in the UH medical school’s has boosted his confidence. Camp also appreciates the program’s focus on communication between pre-hospital providers and emergency physicians.

“It’s useful for us (EMTs and paramedics) to get an idea of what the doctors are thinking so that we can adjust what we’re doing to help them with that continuum of patient care,” Camp said.

While working with the future paramedics, Jannet Lee-Jayaram, SimTiki associate director and JABSOM assistant professor, said she saw a spark in the students’ eyes as they realized, “Hey, what I do directly influences what the physicians and nurses are going to do, and what I do is vitally important, so I need to make sure I get all the information and that I can communicate the right information.”

—By Deborah Manog Dimaya

More than 40 students interested in pursuing nursing as a career toured the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa on April 29. The Farrington Health Academy is a three-year program aimed at preparing students for post-secondary studies in a career in health services.

The highlight of the visit is when UH nursing students took the Farrington students on a walking tour of the school’s 8,000-square-foot state-of-the-art UH Translational Health Science Simulation Center. The center mimics Â鶹´«Ã½’s leading healthcare agencies in design and equipment and features seven simulation rooms with high fidelity manikins— emergency/trauma, labor and delivery, two adult intensive care, pediatric intensive care, neonatal intensive care and home/community setting. An eight bed unit with mid-fidelity manikins and an adjacent two bed unit with static manikins have bedside electronic health records and computerized medication dispensing units.

Health Academy students participated in three hands-on, interactive activities including learning how to correctly wash their hands, testing their ability to read vital signs on mid-fidelity manikins and watching an airway management simulation and then learning to use a bag valve mask on a high-fidelity manikin.

UH Mānoa Nursing has a long-standing partnership with the Department of Education and is committed to providing opportunities for high school students to learn about career path planning and college preparedness. The is designed for high school graduates who are dedicated to completing their Bachelor of Science in nursing degree in four years. With direct entry into our nursing program, a student’s academic path is secure. Students can have confidence that they have been admitted to the nursing program while they complete their prerequisite classes in a cohort based learning model.

Go to the for more information.

—By Desiree Uyeda

When student Kanani Hosaka prepares for her first medical procedure on her patient Mahina, she can do so with complete confidence in her abilities—and the knowledge that there is minimal risk.

“Mahina” is a realistic, full body adult birthing model with advanced clinical functionality that teaches critical skills. She is just one of the exciting features of the new ʻIke Mauli Ola Nursing Simulation Laboratory at UH West Oʻahu.

“I think it will make (us) better nurses and better students when we’re in clinicals, and it will help to get rid of the jitters of dealing with real people,” said Hosaka, who was recently accepted to the fall 2017 cohort of the bachelor of science in nursing program. “It’s exciting. It will allow us to make mistakes and not on real people. Everything we’ve learned so far has been in textbooks. Now we have something that have fevers, and give birth, it’s a great idea.”

UH West Oʻahu’s pre-nursing/health science pathway

The allows students to complete prerequisites and transition into without the need to physically be on the Hilo campus. With ʻIke Mauli Ola Nursing Simulation Laboratory, students now have the working environment needed to complete the BSN program. It provides the equipment and environment for patient care simulations and distance learning opportunities. The simulation lab features four hospital beds, with an adult birthing model, and three life size mannequins used for simulation experiences.

The opportunity to take UH Hilo courses on the Kapolei campus through the ʻIke Mauli Ola pre-nursing/health science pathway “gives people like me the chance to realize our dreams,” said Hosaka, who works full-time as a scheduler for operating room at Wahiawā General Hospital.

The simulation lab enables nursing students to rehearse both common clinical scenarios and critical incidents for improved real patient outcomes. Such simulation scenarios further enhance and contextualize learning objectives in preparation for real patient encounters. The lab provides the equipment and environment for patient care simulations and distance learning opportunities.

“Simulation has gathered increasing acceptance over the years as an integral part of healthcare training and a fundamental approach to improving patient safety practice,” PIKO Project Director Melissa Saul said. “Having the proper equipment and working environment gives students the tools to succeed and receive the full educational experience including hands-on practice.“

The Title III PIKO Project is a Title III ANNH Federal Grant dedicated to building capacity for UH West Oʻahu with a focus on promoting the health and wellness of students. The PIKO Project currently funds and operates the ʻIke Mauli Ola Pre-Nursing Pathway Program which partners with UH Hilo for a BSN Program.

—A story from

—By Leila Wai Shimokawa

The simulated patient lab at the medical school has reached elite status—becoming 1 of only 13 such centers in the country accredited for research as well as teaching.

The Simulation Center at the (JABSOM) is called . It features breathing, talking mannequins with vital signs. The simulated patients can be programmed to experience virtually any sort of medical emergency, and to respond to treatment.

The mannequins make for life-like encounters used to test students’ clinical and emergency skills. SimTiki conducts about 1,000 encounters per year for medical students and MDs who are still in residency (or graduate medical education training) at JABSOM, as well as for community-based professional healthcare workers ranging from air ambulance crews to hospital trauma teams. SimTiki operators are also in demand on the road. Last year they trained medical educators in more than 30 overseas programs, including in Japan, Thailand, the Philippines and Poland.

“The significance of this accreditation is its recognition of the expertise of our SimTiki educators, their unique skills at utlizing the simulation technology to develop compelling, highly successful, hands-on learning courses for health care providers in Â鶹´«Ã½ and around the world,” said Jerris Hedges, JABSOM dean. “That knowledge and the result of educational research conducted at SimTiki are exported by our school to teach other educators how to effectively employ simulation training.”

The Accreditation recognized the SimTiki Center in January 2015 in the areas of research and in education and teaching. The elaborate application process included a site visit and a 763-paged document completed by the instructional team at SimTiki, including Director Ben Berg, Associate Director Jannet Lee, Chief Simulation Specialist Kris Hara and SimTiki Program Manager Eileen Maeda.

—By Tina Shelton

The , at the UH Mānoa , has been accredited for three years by the (SSH). High fidelity simulation education is a relatively new field. SSH Simulation Accreditation positions UH Mānoa Nursing at the forefront of simulation education.

The SSH Simulation Accreditation is the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and demonstrates the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ Translational Health Science Simulation Center’s commitment to offering health care simulation training programs and services that are measurable, accountable and of the highest quality.

As leaders of excellence in innovation, UH Mānoa Nursing and the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ Translational Health Science Simulation Center provides a facility that simulates hospital, ambulatory care, and home environments for learners. The center creates real-life scenarios so that students can gain experience, confidence, and the skills they need to provide quality care. Through simulation education, health care professionals and their health care teams work together in a controlled and safe simulated environment to reduce preventable errors and deliver safe, quality healthcare.

The SSH Simulation Accreditation verifies that the center’s internal operations as well as teaching and educational programs meet stringent international standards.

“Our SSH Simulation Accreditation solidifies and confirms our commitment to providing both student and professional learners with the highest quality of simulation education, ” said Lorrie Wong, director of the UH Translational Health Science Simulation Center.

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University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa Lorrie Wong, director of the , successfully completed the Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator Advanced certification. CHSE-Advanced is a multidisciplinary program administered by The Society for Simulation in Healthcare to certify healthcare simulation educators who demonstrate advanced professional and educational knowledge, skills and abilities in healthcare simulation.

Launched in 2012, (CHSE) is the first certification for healthcare simulation educators. Since then, more than 295 individuals from 10 countries have obtained CHSE certification. The CHSE-Advanced certification represents the continuation of professional development beyond the CHSE. Wong is one of only 16 individuals worldwide awarded the CHSE-Advanced certification.

Only select healthcare simulation professionals earn this advanced professional recognition of specialized knowledge, skills, abilities, longevity and accomplishments in simulation. As leaders of excellence and innovation, the Â鶹´«Ã½Translational Health Science Simulation Center brings real-life scenarios to the classroom so that students can gain experience, confidence and skills they need to provide quality care.

“Dr. Wong’s CHSE-Advanced certification ensures that our center maintains national and international standards of simulation education for our students,” said Mary G. Boland, UH Mānoa nursing dean. Simulation training creates high-risk, low-frequency situations for students to learn hands-on in a safe, controlled environment. The aim is to increase patient safety and quality of care when students graduate and enter the workforce.

A key success factor for the center is Wong’s comprehensive understanding of how to effectively utilize simulation to meet program outcomes and her ability to design programs to meet standards of healthcare simulation education. “Having the CHSE-Advanced certification is a great honor and I feel great responsibility to ensure that every learner who comes to the center will leave with greater knowledge, experience and confidence,” Wong said. “This is important to me because it means that our community will be better served, one patient at a time.”

Read the for more information.

     â€¦A war veteran, suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, is calmed by a pair of nurses and is guided to the support services that will help him.

     â€¦A nurse comforts and cares for a young mother stricken with cancer, who is coming to terms with the seriousness of her condition.

These are scenes from HealthCAST, a groundbreaking partnership at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa between the and the . Theatre students play the role of the patients in extremely realistic simulations giving nursing students the opportunity to practice providing care in emotionally charged situations.

“There are certain simulations where you really need that human factor, the psych social, the death and dying or anxiety or stress,” explained Lorrie Wong, the director of the UH Mānoa in the .

“For theatre, it was a great opportunity to give some of our students the chance to really work in depth on characters,” said Paul Mitri, the theatre and dance department chair.

It all takes place in the nursing department’s state-of-the-art Translational Health Science Simulation Center. Nursing faculty and staff say the theatre students add a critical dimension of realism.

“When we had our actress portraying this patient that was really going through this life crisis,” said Wong. “We had people actually crying.”

“We never know what situation we are walking into,” said nursing student Michelle Radovan. “What kind of people we are dealing with, how they are going to respond to our care.”

“You learn how to respond to their emotions and how you respond to their emotions, so that way, when you are in that situation, you deal with it better,” said fellow nursing student Kameron Noyama. “Instead of being like, oh no, what am I going to do now.”

To make the simulations as realistic as possible, each theatre student works with an expert from the nursing department to master every detail of the illness they are portraying.

“To fully understand emotionally and physically what these patients are going through, I felt was essential to the role I was playing” said theatre student Kyle Scholl.

The theatre students say their HealthCAST roles come with more responsibility than a typical theatre production because they are working with future nurses.

“Not only do I have to do justice to the character and my acting,” said theatre student Timothy Callais. “But I have to help their education and I need to make sure that I am doing the best I can so that they get the best education they can.”

Because the simulations are so realistic, the nursing students say they learn things that could never be taught in a textbook or lecture. The exercises are video taped so the students can review them with their instructors and fellow students and receive critical feedback allowing them to build competence and confidence along with empathy and compassion.

“You have been through the scenarios, you’ve seen how other people respond and from there you kind of figure out how to approach the situation,” said Noyama. “And that makes the biggest difference in the world, I think.”

The program is also very important to the theatre and dance department.

“This collaboration could really be the start of a new area of theatre and the arts and its involvement in the world,” said Callais.

HealthCAST is an example of what’s possible when two completely different university departments join forces to achieve a common goal, giving students the most complete and best education possible.