Victoria Brazil’s Podcast

The Visionary Behind Harvard Macy: Reflecting on Liz Armstrong's Legacy

In the final episode of our season celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Harvard Macy Institute, host Victoria Brazil engages in a profound conversation with Liz Armstrong, the visionary whose leadership and courage brought the Institute to life. Join us as we explore Liz's journey from being a professor at Harvard Medical School to leading the transformative Harvard Macy Institute. Liz shares insights into the Institute's origin story, her innovative approaches in medical education, and the challenges she faced in her pursuit of building a global community of educators. We explore  into her personal style, her educational philosophy, and the strategic efforts in fostering collaboration across disciplines. Liz offers her perspective on the future of medical education, emphasizing the need for ongoing innovation and collaboration. This episode is a tribute to her remarkable contributions and a call to action for the work still to be done in the field of health professions education. Embark on this insightful journey and discover the lasting impact of Liz Armstrong's legacy.

Unlocking Healthcare Innovation: The Power of Translational Simulation

In this episode, we delve into the world of translational simulation and its impact on reshaping healthcare innovation. Our exploration begins with an overview of how this field allows for safe, simulated testing environments where changes to hospital layouts or surgical techniques can be trialled before real-world implementation. This innovative approach is not about replacing hands-on experience but about supplementing it to identify latent safety threats and enhance system effectiveness.

The conversation highlights several real-world applications that demonstrate the clear benefits of translational simulation. From improving response times for critical care situations to refining hospital staff's familiarity with new environments, the potential of these simulations to improve patient outcomes is immense. We also discuss the exciting future of the field, with advances in technology such as virtual reality enhancing simulation experiences.

Tackling the challenges of implementing these simulations, we emphasize the need for organizational buy-in and developing metrics to measure impact accurately. Finally, we consider the ethical implications, reinforcing the idea that the ultimate goal of translational simulation is to advance healthcare and ensure patient safety. Our deep dive culminates in envisioning a future where interdisciplinary collaboration through simulation leads to more efficient, effective, and patient-centred care systems.

Challenging Debriefing Norms in Healthcare Simulation

In this episode of Simulcast, the team explores the evolving landscape of healthcare simulation. Featuring a deep dive into current literature, the discussion begins with the paradigm shift from facilitator-led to self-led debriefings and examines the implications for simulation-based education. The conversation then navigates through the intricacies of team cognition, highlighting the importance of shared mental models for effective teamwork in clinical settings. Additionally, the episode delves into the philosophical realms of how cognitive simulations can impact participant immersion and engagement. Finally, the hosts tackle the challenges and potential of using pictograms and visual communication tools to enhance the clarity and accessibility of simulation-based education and research. Join us as we uncover how these cutting-edge approaches can transform the future of healthcare simulation.

Celebrating 200 Episodes of Simulcast: Reflections and Future Visions

In this special 200th episode of Simulcast, join host Victoria Brazil and the team as they reflect on their journey, sharing insights and highlights from over eight years of podcasting in the healthcare simulation field. The episode delves into how Simulcast has evolved, the community it has fostered, and its influence on healthcare simulation practices.

Through engaging conversations with Ben Symon, Jesse Spurr, and Jessica Stokes-Parrish, listeners are invited to explore the impact Simulcast has had in making simulation literature more accessible. The team discusses the connections they've built within the simulation community and their role in shaping the conversation around this vital healthcare tool.

Looking to the future, they contemplate what the next decade holds for healthcare simulation, considering both the achievements and the challenges. Tune in to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and envision the future of simulation in healthcare together with the Simulcast team.

Simulcast JC March 2025

Join us for the March edition of the Simulcast Journal Club, hosted by Victoria Brazil and Ben Simon, where they explore innovative approaches in healthcare simulation. In this episode, they delve into a study on integrating electronic medical records into simulations, examining how this affects clinical realism and participant learning. They also discuss fascinating insights from a New Zealand-based study on reluctant participants in pediatric simulation training, shedding light on the challenges of engagement and anxiety in simulation settings.

Furthermore, discover the application of tabletop sandbox simulations for improving emergency department care coordination, revealing key adaptive strategies for handling complex and dynamic healthcare environments in Sweden. Lastly, delve into the world of simulated participant programs in Australia, with a focus on benchmarking and enhancing the quality of SP programs through a Delphi consensus study.

Better Simulation Debriefing: The 7 Drivers of Team Effectiveness

Welcome to the first episode of Simulcast's special series on teamwork, hosted by Victoria Brazil and  Dr. Eve Purdy. This episode introduces listeners to the seven drivers of team effectiveness, a framework developed by experts Scott Tannenbaum and Eduardo Salas, and described in their recent book - Teams That Work. With Eve's expertise in team dynamics across various healthcare contexts, we delve into how these drivers enhance team function, particularly in simulation debriefing rooms.

This episode covers the foundational principles that help teams coordinate, communicate, and execute tasks effectively, even under challenging conditions. It explains the importance of individual capabilities, efficient communication, and shared cognitions (or mental models), linking these to real-world applicability in healthcare teams.

Further discussions explore the conditions teams operate in, the cooperative values they hold, and the leadership—or coaching—methods that guide them. Designed to equip listeners with deep insights into teamwork, this episode sets the tone for further exploration into creating cohesive, high-performing teams from healthcare simulation.

Navigating Emotions in Simulation-Based Education

In this episode of Simulcast, host Victoria Brazil talks to co-authors Vicki LeBlanc and Glenn Posner to discuss their latest article, "More Than a Feeling: Emotional Regulation Strategies for Simulation-Based Education." The discussion delves into the complex interplay of emotions in healthcare simulation and explores strategies to harness these emotional experiences for improved learning.

Vicki LeBlanc shares insights on how emotions drive clinical learning and performance, highlighting her research into acute stress and performance across various medical settings. Glenn Posner, a seasoned simulation educator, reflects on the importance of creating emotionally safe learning environments and the art of debriefing.

The hosts and guests further discuss the cognitive and behavioral aspects of emotion regulation, emphasizing that emotions are neither inherently good nor bad. They explore practical strategies for recognizing and responding to emotions before and after simulation experiences.

This episode is a deep dive into understanding and managing emotions in simulation education, providing listeners with valuable tools and insights to apply in their practice.

Exploring Simulation in Healthcare: Enhancing Root Cause Analysis

In the latest episode of Simulcast, Victoria Brazil and Ben Symon delve into two compelling papers that explore the intersection between healthcare simulation and patient safety. Join them for the November edition of the Simulcast Journal Club as they discuss how simulation can enhance root cause analysis (RCA) of adverse surgical outcomes.

The primary focus is on a landmark paper by Douglas Slakey and his team, published in the International Journal for Quality in Healthcare in 2014. This research investigates the potential of using simulation to recreate adverse surgical events, aiming to uncover deeper insights beyond traditional root cause analysis.

Through detailed case studies, including instances of unrecognized complications and erroneous surgeries, the episode highlights the complexities of medical errors and the limitations of conventional analysis. The hosts consider whether simulation can offer a more nuanced understanding, acknowledging the challenges of resource-intensive processes.

Tune in to explore the possibilities of simulation as a tool to bridge gaps in patient safety and improve healthcare outcomes, challenging the status quo in root cause analysis.

Simulation supporting Hospital Design: The Impact of Lift Sizes on ICU Transfers

Join Victoria Brazil and Ben Symon in this episode of Simulcast as they dive into the world of hospital design and 'vertical transport' :-). The discussion is about a study by Sheila Barnett and Kate Stevens, showcasing the importance of lift sizes in the safe and efficient transport of critical care patients, and how simulation can help in the testing process.

This study, presented at the NZASH simulation conference, utilizes simulation to inform the planning of the new hospital in Dunedin, New Zealand. The episode highlights the pragmatic approach used in simulating the hospital lift sizes, emphasizing how simple, cost-effective simulations can play a crucial role in healthcare design. Discover the  insights and recommendations that emerged from this study, advocating for the adoption of jumbo lift sizes and raising the bar for future hospital designs.

Educating for Adaptive Expertise: a Harvard Macy podcast

In this episode, Vic speaks with Martin Pusic, Bill Cutrer and Elissa Hall about their article - Educating for adaptive expertise: case examples along the medical education continuum.

What do we mean by ‘adaptive expertise’? Our discussion starts with some definitions and examples: “routine procedural approaches, plus creative innovative ones, when the situation calls for it”. This capacity is critical in a healthcare environment brimming with complexity.

How do we educate for adaptive expertise? Our guests suggested 4 instructional strategies: developing deep conceptual understanding, exposure to meaningful variation, emphasis on productive struggle and discovery, and “metacognitive strategizing”, and drew upon the Master Adaptive Learner conceptual model.

We worked through the practicalities of this kind of education in the undergraduate, postgraduate (Emergency Medicine) and continuing professional development (CPD) educational contexts. This is not easy! Our guests explained how they have worked through various barriers and constraints to realise the opportunities for fostering adaptive expertise in our healthcare professionals

Happy listening!