Dr. Tiffani Chidume successfully passed two certification exams for simulation experts as deemed by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH). She has the distinction of being only the second professional in the state of Alabama to hold certifications as both a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) and Certified Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialists (CHSOS). The first is her long-time mentor, Dr. Lori Lioce, executive director of the Learning and Technology Resource Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Simulation centers have been a part of training healthcare personnel for over a decade. Healthcare simulation is growing as a teaching method and includes a range of activities that include — improving the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of healthcare services. Simulation-based experiences can utilize existing data to form an accurate view of operating rooms, emergency department, and inpatient resources within a hospital or healthcare system. As simulation is a hands-on methodology, it alerts learners and faculty of problem areas to be remediated, ranging from individual procedures to therapeutic communication.
As simulation training methods evolved and diversified, so did the range of technical expertise required to support these methods. The simulation educator is part of a team whose goal is to develop and implement simulation-based education and training designed to enhance patient safety and quality during healthcare delivery. The healthcare simulation operations/technology specialist is an industry-recognized position to fill the gap between medical knowledge and technical skills to improve the operation and training with simulation centers.
Chidume joined AUSON in 2018 as an assistant clinical professor and the EAGLES Center Coordinator. She has nearly 20 years of combined experience in nursing education, critical care, emergency nursing, long-term healthcare, and health information technology. She teaches clinical simulation, clinical skills, and critical care, and is a co-PI on a research grant for a study in increasing technology usage in simulation. She serves on the Simulation, Technology, and Diversity and Inclusion committees in the SON.
A quick look at current global certification numbers from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare:
CHSE: 2,470 individuals from 38 countries have passed since June 2012 — Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Dominica, Egypt, England, France, Grenada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Saint Maarten, South Africa, South Korea, St. George, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United States.
CHSOS: 543 individuals from 18 countries have been awarded CHSOS since May 2014: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Dominica, Grenada, Hong Kong, Israel. Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Saint Maarten, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and the United States.
