Leading the Way: Graduates of the NLN Leadership Development for Simulation Educators Program

This episode of NLN Nursing EDge Unscripted features guests Crystel Farina, Carman Turkelson, and Christine Thomas, who discuss the profound impact of the NLN Simulation Leadership Institute on their careers. The program enhanced their networks and equipped them with crucial skills for growth in simulation education and leadership, fostering confidence and long-lasting collaborations. The guests highlight the value of mentorship—both from instructors and peers—in overcoming challenges and cultivating leadership skills in a field where individuals often step into roles with limited preparation. Learn more about the NLN Leadership Development for Simulation Educators Program by visiting www.nln.org/simleader.

Learn more about the NLN Leadership Development for Simulation Educators Program by visiting www.nln.org/simleader.

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the leading organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. Find past episodes of the NLN Nursing EDge podcast online. Get instant updates by following the NLN on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. For more information, visit NLN.org.

Transcript

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[Music][Music] Hello everyone and welcome to our season 4 podcast. I am privileged today to have  some of our Sim Leadership Alum joining us today to talk about our NLN Sim Leadership  Institute Program. I want to first just give a quick description about the Sim Lead Program,  which we are currently accepting applications, is a one-year program and it's designed for  people that are in the simulation field who are looking to advance their career and assume more  of a leadership role in simulation each cohort is about 20 participants. The people that have  graduated from the program have said it's changed their career, it's changed their  lives. So we wanted to talk about the benefits of the program, talk to some of our individuals  here who have graduated from the program and how it's impact their career. So I want to just start  with I'll introduce myself. I'm Dr. Kellie Bryant I am the Director for the Center of Innovation in  Education Excellence at the National League for Nursing and now I'm gonna pass it and introduce  our wonderful group of panelists and I'll start with Dr. Chris Thomas. Hi, I'm Chris Thomas.  I'm here at uh Washington University I am the director of simulation and experiential learning  and I started here in January. Great and what year did you graduate from the Sim Leadership Program?  My Sim Leadership cohort was in 2014, again, quite a while ago and again I have changed positions,  met a lot of people, we'll talk more about that as we go forward, but yeah, it was a great opportunity.  Great, we're glad to have you. Dr. Thomas and Dr. Turkelson, can you give us a little bit of your  background? Yes, I am Dr. Carman Turkelson. I'm at the University of Michigan Flint School of Nursing  and I'm a professor there and the Director for the Center for Simulation and Clinical Innovation  and I was in the second cohort 2011 of the Sim Leader Program. Great, and last but not least,  Dr. Farina, if you can introduce yourself. Hi, I'm Dr. Crystel Farina I am from the 2015 Sim  Lead cohort and I am currently the Associate Dean of BSN programs at George Washington University  School of Nursing. Okay so I welcome all of you and again thank you for participating in this  podcast. So to start it off the first question I have for you, can you just share about how your  participation in our NLN Sim Leadership Institute Program? How has it changed your career? Chris, do  you want to start us off? I will start you off yes so for me the Simulation Leadership Program has  has 100% changed my life and my career trajectory. The first part is the 2015 cohort, there were  20 of us and we really bonded as a group. And still continue to do a lot of work together and because  of that group and the things that I learned at the program, it's the whole reason why I'm at  George Washington University now. I started out at a small community college and I was trying to move  simulation forward and this program helped me apply for different roles at the community college  and from there an opening came at GW and without the coaching and the support that I had from the  NLN I would have never applied for these programs and I certainly would not be an associate dean at  this time. Well I want to say congratulations on your new role. Thank you. Thank you. All right,  Dr. Thomas, can you tell us how this program has helped you in your career? It just opened  up the world of simulation for me. Again, just as Crystel identified, I had been working at a state  university in Pennsylvania doing some simulation. They hadn't really formally introduced it into  the curriculum so through learning, through all of that and the mentoring through the program I was  able to help them design the curriculum around best practices and again it's really  that networking piece. I ... just felt stuck. I just was stuck. You're sort of in your  own little world and you just get feedback from those that are in that world but as you start to  talk to different people with similar struggles, their challenges, their triumphs and  being able to support one another through all of that because as many programs start out, there's  usually one champion. There's one person that's sort of trying to move it through and you feel  a bit isolated. So this program, like I said, just opened it up. I was just like, wow, there's a whole other world to learn and it gave me that opportunity to do that. Great, thank you.  And Dr. Turkelson, how has it changed your career? I would say it's been definitely lifechanging as  the others have mentioned. When I was in the Sim leader program in 2011 and I was just starting  my doctorate program and I was a clinical nurse specialist on the hospital side and I like many  people got thrown into simulation. My boss sent me to a conference where Dr. Pam Jeffries was  speaking, myself and one other colleague, and when we returned we were told you have to implement  simulation into critical care residency program and nursing orientation. I knew nothing about  simulation that was in 2011 and just like Dr. Thomas said, there was nobody in the hospital that ... I had no resources. I had nobody else and I knew nothing. So I really looked to this program to help  me build my knowledge and expertise and simulation and what it did is just like has already been  shared - it connected me to experts in the field. It created a network of colleagues to collaborate  with not just during the program but after the program. It opened the doors for involvement  in INACSL and SSH and just really like a broader world out there of simulation and for me it really  was the foundation of my beginning to develop an expertise in simulation and set myself up as  a simulation leader. So as I mentioned I was at the beginning of my doctorate program and that  fueled my DNP project, that fueled my current research and grant funding but it also opened the  door for me to move into academia and create a director position at a school where there  was nobody overseeing the sim program. I just could probably go on and on for a long time  about how it changed my life, but the amazing thing really is the that mentorship and collaboration to  me, like those are the biggest pieces because it is not always the village, right. It's that  helps us do what we do every day and so for for me that was a huge piece but it also gave me a lot  of insight into leadership strategies and how to lead a program and how to advocate for simulation  because many of us get thrown into these positions and we have to advocate for what it is that we do  and how we do it and how it makes a difference so it it really helped me in doing that. Excellent and  I want to kind of piggyback off of that. So to go a little bit more in detail about the program,  again, it's a year-long program and there's so many components to it, like you mentioned  there's the mentorship. Another component is that you get to learn from simulation experts  from around the world and it also helps you to also kind of plan your trajectory for  your career. I know a big part of it is really kind of mapping out where do you see yourself  in three years and and most importantly you have regular workshops and meetings and you're learning  different techniques on how to be a leader. So I want to ask you - being a graduate from  the program, how specifically has it helped you with your leadership skills and your leadership  development? The leadership assessment - so that was one thing that really helped and then  of course you're assigned that that mentor and so I was going along with fake it till you  make it type of thing. So what do other leaders do? How do I do that? But then they really sort of  help me understand that everybody has their own leadership strengths. I mean that was  the sort of the pool of that. So that assessment helped me really identify that I'm more  of a relator, learner, and advocator. There is no one one way to lead. so to lean into those strengths so  that you know those around you as you start moving forward and team building that you're authentic to  yourself because it's really hard to be a leader if you're not authentic. That's sort of what stood  out to me. Excellent, yeah. I think a lot of us we started as faculty in a nursing program  and then we went into these leadership roles and I don't know about you, but I find that I didn't  really have any training that prepared me to be a leader. Those skills are very unique.  I that's why I think this program is so important because we don't have those  opportunities to develop our leadership skills because a lot of times we're just thrown  into these roles. We're thankful for it, but we need that preparation because there are  specific traits and skills needed in order to to lead a team or to oversee a simulation setup.  So Dr. Farina, I see that you had wanted to answer that question also. Can you tell us about how it's  advanced your leadership skills? Well, we had such amazing leadership role models you know  from and again we were very privileged to have Pam Jeffries as as one of our leaders  and role models that helped us through. Mary Anne Rizzolo, Sue Forneris, Mary Fey were all part of my Sim Lead cohort and they were who we learned from and so they gave us such guidance and really role modeled  what true leaders are and really role modeled simulation and how it's supposed to be that  psychologically safe environment where it's okay to make mistakes. And they encouraged us to to take  risks in leadership. And so as Dr. Turkelson was saying it was really an opportunity to build our  career, build our pathway to take risks and say okay, there isn't a sim director here. Let's  make one. Can I, could I possibly pitch that to the university leaders to say  can we do this? And it was because of those role models that really helped me grow. And I'm  assuming it also helped build your confidence. Oh yes ,oh yes. Oh I was just going  to piggy back off of that and say I think they also challenged us right to think beyond where  we were at that moment in time but to think future and where you want to be and how to best position  yourself to be that person that's selected as the director to be that leader in your organization.  So you know part of I think being a leader is also and we have great role models is stimulating  the idea in somebody else that they can be more than they thought they could be and that's what  this program definitely did because when I entered it I like didn't know what I didn't know. And I  really didn't ... never could I have imagined where I would be in the things that I'm doing today in  simulation. Never ever in 2011 would have dreamed that and those role models to we can still reach  out to them and our colleagues we can still reach out to them. So it's not just something that's like  once you're done in the program you never hear from your mentors again. You see them all the  time, you hear from them, they encourage you, they they say you should do this, you should do that, and  and so they've opened a lot of doors and maybe opened my mind to things that I never thought  I could do. Great, great. So I know that a lot of you have had career changes since you graduated  from the Simulation Leadership Program. Can you tell me a little bit in detail about what's  changed since you graduated as far as your career? I can. I mean I was in my doctorate program so I  achieved my DNP in 2013 and as I mentioned I was in the hospital setting doing simulation there  so I applied a lot of the concepts I learned in the program to simulation on the acute care side  and in nursing and my DNP project was on nurse- physician communication using simulation.   We were able to show an improvement in that and it was really exciting but then in 2014 I had an  opportunity to move into the academic world and so I moved into an assistant professor position  in 2014 at the University of Michigan Flint School of Nursing. And again, as I mentioned, at that time  they had one room simulation center and they had nobody overseeing it was just kind of a  free-for-all people were told to do simulation and again I just kind of lean back into the experience  I had in the Sim Leader Program and even in my doctoral work that the mentors I had during that  in that I saw, well, there's maybe an opportunity. Maybe I could be the one that one day oversaw the  simulation program. So by 2015 I was the associate director of the sim center and was able to grow a  team, write job descriptions and the position became official in 2019 and I'm still in that role.  Grant funding - I could go on and on about. Recently we just were awarded another $1.4 million  to do work in sexual assault nurse examiners using simulation training. Congratulations! It just opened  so many doors and I'm a full professor now too so a lot has changed. Excellent. So a lot a lot  of changes since you graduated so congratulation on all those accomplishments. Dr. Thomas,  tell us about your career. Well as I said where I was before we were just starting to implement it  in a bit of a formal way but we had no simulation director or specific faculty as the point person  so having gone through the program and learned all those things I was able to step up  and do that and so it was again, great, it was a very big challenge as we moved forward, but had other great faculty that were working there and so as being their simulation faculty where  that's all I did was simulation and pulling all those pieces together. Again, networking not only  within the department things started to grow. Simulation was really taking off and people at  the university started to notice what simulation was doing. So now other departments wanted  to do simulations. So speech-language pathology and nutrition and respiratory therapy so not only that  now it starts to lead into interdisciplinary so again all of that different types types of things  networking getting out there growing in those different areas again reaching out to different  people and colleagues across the country. Doing more consulting for the NLN and learning more  I was unable to make the INACSL conference last year but some of my friends and colleagues were  there and saw that Crystel was looking for a simulation director they called me up from the  conference and I jumped on that. So I applied and here I am. So as I said, it really sort of  helps grow. I was not sure if I was ready for that but I was again encouraged by all my  friends and colleagues that yes, you you need to do that and I'm very excited to be here. Excellent,  and Crystel, Dr Farina, tell us. As I think about my career in simulation I started in 2004 so  it's been 20 years in simulation and I started by taking SimMan out of the box. This  community college got it and they were afraid to take it out of the box because it was so  expensive and I know that's how a lot of people have started in simulation started and so took him  out of the box set him on the bed, called Laerdal and said - okay, can somebody tell me what I need  to do to use it? And the next thing I know I'm in love and I have a whole new career plan  like simulation is going to be my life I could tell. And so it it was just learning as I went  and like I said I was at a little community college because of the things that I  had been doing in simulation I was part of them to developing and building a 100,000 square foot  Health Professions and Athletic Center that had probably a 30,000 square foot simulation center to  it and I got to be the director of that and really that that in addition to the NLN Sim Lead Program  really said my career in a very different path from there after the Sim Lead Program. I  guess it was about two years after the Sim Lead Program there were four of us in our cohort that  really bonded and we were all from the state of Maryland and so we started thinking about there  needs to be a simulation consulting group. There are people that need information and so  we still work together. Two of us actually built and developed a simulation consulting firm,  Simpl Simulation with Tonya Schneidereith from the 2015 cohort and you know so that's one thing  that I was able to do and and it's something that I really enjoy and I get to reach out to  all these different programs and help them with their simulation and at the same time I guess  it was about 2017 that this position came up at GW to be the Simulation and Innovative Learning  Center under the deanship of Pam Jeffries. She was the Dean of GW at the time and so  when I came on board there it was it has been an amazing experience to learn from her. We built a,  we renovated every ounce of simulation space in this building so we now have 20,000 square feet  about 18 beds an osce center, a really innovative skills lab,and just in the last two years I  have moved on to that leadership role to be the associate dean of BSN program so it really it  was all of the leadership and all of the you know I learned different leadership styles and that's  really, if I could have told my 2015 myself that this is where I was going I would have  never believed it. So and I can't wait to see what happens next. Oh my goodness, wow! So  we have people that have become deans, people have gotten research grants, even starting their own  business, all of this since you've graduated. That is absolutely amazing. I just want to touch upon  I've heard references to how this program has led you to connect with other simulationists, how the  networking has definitely helped with your career trajectory. Can you tell me a little bit more or  give examples of the power of that networking and having these wonderful mentors how has that also  enhanced your careers? I would say that networking being able to actually be aware that there are  other people out there walking the same path that you are is huge. I think all of us  have shared that we were kind of on our own like areas and so knowing that you have  other individuals that are doing the same things, but they also connected us, like I said earlier,  to simulation organizations like the NLN, INACSL, and SSH, and encouraged or at least during my cohort they were encouraging us to be involved in those organizations because that helps you connect  whether it's at conferences or there are chats and discussion boards and podcasts  such as this and that can also help build your education. I mean, I became CHSE. I was in the first  cohort that was CHSE certified. I'm CHSE-A so I mean it opened the doors for that, but it for me too also my involvement in those organizations led to me being able to run for a board position on  INACSL. Again, never would have imagined that, me, like I'm doing that, you know, and   again that just gave me so much knowledge and insight. That experience was an amazing  experience and even just having that opportunity. I never would have had that opportunity if I hadn't  had this foundation to build off of. Excellent. The 2015 cohort we were sort of  a unique group. We don't know why, but we bonded as a group in such a way that we have stayed so  close that those the the group that was part of our cohort are my best friends. I can still  say that today that at least probably 10 of us do things together all the time. Some of  my colleagues will say when when they see me at a conference like INACSL or she's with her sim  sisters, like you see this entourage going from session to session and the unique thing is we'll go to different sessions and then come back and talk about it together and we really support  each other by you know calling on each other to say, hey I'm having a problem with this. What are  you guys doing? The network that we've created and we bring, we welcome anybody else as  the new sim lead cohort comes in. If we see them and somebody says, hey, I know this, we just pull  them in because we want to grow simulation and that leadership so much and it has been fantastic  we help each other with jobs and interviews and you know writing articles and doing presentations  and that networking has really led the group of us to become such good leaders. That is beautiful  to hear because one thing I do find being in the simulation community we do support and look out  for each other, which I love because you don't, I don't know if I see that in a lot of the  other organizations, that sense of community and that connectiveness. You'll get  emails and phone calls, you want to work with me on this grant, you want to write this article together,  let's present together. So I'm glad that that was one of the outcomes from the program is really  promoting that sense of community. So Dr. Thomas, I know you wanted to speak. Yeah, the thing that sort of  stood out to me I still keep in touch with some of them. I actually talk to more of of Crystel's  cohort because I go to conferences and they're all together, but the other thing with the NLN  is you guys put together projects and then are reaching out to the simulation leaders.   In the beginning I was just like, do I have time for this? Yes. I benefited from the other piece, let  me volunteer and it again has opened up my world. Some of the things that the NLN has given me an  opportunity to do is work with NLN and Laerdal and doing onsite faculty development for beginning  simulationists that their struggles. That was the biggest learning opportunity I ever did. Not only was I sharing but again talking to people and the struggles that they were having.  Some of them were unique and some of them are not and you're again collaborating and reaching out  doing some of the SIRC courses so helping review them and revise them and do those type  of things. All those projects forced me to go out back into the literature. Now I've got a project. I've  got to learn what's out there. What are we going to do about that, so again it really helped continue with my growth afterwards related to the projects and collaborations and I didn't do that  alone. You guys reach out to everybody. You put a call out, who has an area in this,  who wants to learn more about that, so now you're not just again working on a project alone you're  collaborating not with somebody in your general area typically but across the country. Good, good,  good. So we unfortunately are running out of time. I think we can continue having this conversation  for another hour but I do want to end us with one last question that I'd like to hear from each of  you. I'm thinking about the individual who's kind of in the middle of their simulation career, maybe  even the beginning who's contemplating, should I apply for this program? I'm not sure if I'm  ready? So what advice would you give someone who's thinking about applying for this program but is kind of on the fence. What would you tell them? Oh I would say hands down it's a no-brainer, just do  it. I will say this too. At the time, I did not have support from my management and the hospital  side to do it, so I paid out of pocket, no reimbursement because I felt it was that important  for my own personal growth. Little did I know, like we've been sharing, how it would literally change  my life. So I think, you know, go for it. It will change your perspective, it will probably change  your trajectory and your career as a simulationist and it's only going to help you. Dr. Farina.  I would say the same thing, just do it. I was in a similar position. I wasn't getting a lot of  support to apply for it and as I was writing the application I thought, oh my goodness, they're  never gonna accept me, like you know, I'm a baby at this. I don't even you know, know and I was  so amazed that I got in and it really again I can't say it enough, lifechanging. So just  do it. Take the risk. If you don't apply you will never know, but if you apply you have the  chance and you will really be lifted up and the NLN does such amazing things for  everyone that it comes in contact with and so just do it. That's all I can say.  Sounds like the Nike commercial - just do it. That's right. That's right. Just do it. And Dr. Thomas, what  advice would you give someone? I concur that was what I was thinking. Just just do it. I mean  at the time I had still paying off student loans, didn't have, and it was it would have been  a risk, but I'm like, if I'm staying safe where I am, I'm not  again challenging myself. I'm not giving myself some of these opportunities and again filling  out the thing I did a little bit, I don't know if they're going to accept me, but that's what  that NLN program was like - where are you and where can we take you? And it has taken me quite far so  yeah, if you can definitely find the resources do it. Excellent. So that is the theme. Even if you're  thinking about it, just do it and the fact that again, from everything I heard from you  this program was life-changing. It really instills within you those leadership skills. I  heard a lot about just even a confidence because I think a lot of us are like that you  never think that you're ready. You never think that you can possibly be an assistant  dean or a dean of a simulation program. I want to just thank you. Thank you for sharing all your  knowledge and your experience being an alum from the simulation leadership program. I hope that  this has been helpful. So for those of you watching this, again, if you're even thinking about it - just  apply. It is lifechanging and it will take your career to that next level and it give you those  skills needed to move forward with your leadership skills. So applications are open. You  can still apply. You can visit NLN.org and look for the Simulation Leadership Program and apply right  online and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Again, I am Dr. Kellie Bryant.  My email is kbryant@nln.org. So I want to also take the time to thank our wonderful, wonderful  panelists. Thank you for sharing your experiences and taking the time out of your busy schedules to  meet with us today to record this. So thank you Dr. Thomas, Dr. Turkelson, and Dr. Farina for  imparting your wisdom and your experience so thank you so much. Thank you Dr. Bryant. Thank you.[Music]