Simulation sensation

By Danica Hidalgo Cherewyk

The Joe Doupe Concourse at the University of Manitoba’s Bannatyne campus was filled with hands-on simulation demonstrations as the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences hosted its first Simulation Retreat on May 15, 2026.

“We are excited about the opportunity to have a community of practice ... coming together to learn and to grow and to share,” said Lanette Siragusa, vice-dean, education, Rady Faculty.

“We are at a pivotal moment in health-care education ... The tools that we use to teach and learn and practice health care are transforming faster than any point before in modern history.”

Demonstrations featured simulation tools used in the Rady Faculty such as high-fidelity mannikins and RadyVerse — an initiative that is expanding the use of virtual reality (VR) training tools across colleges.

“Today's retreat isn't really about the technology,” Siragusa said. “It's about the people — the educators, the clinicians, the innovators and the learners — and how we can harness the tools to do what we've always done better: prepare health-care professionals to care for others when it matters most.” 

A day of collaboration

Eight sessions were held in Theatre C, where UM faculty and partner organizations, including RRC Polytech, STARS and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, shared how they use simulation.

Topics ranged from using generative AI in nursing education to working with standardized patients — actors trained to portray patients. These approaches help students learn how to respond in various scenarios, including addressing racism in Indigenous health-care experiences.  

The event was hosted by the Rady Faculty’s Clinical Learning and Simulation Program. Approximately 100 people attended in person and online. Participants included representatives from the Rady Faculty and several health organizations in Manitoba.  

Why simulation learning matters

For Dr. Nicole Harder, a professor in the College of Nursing, her first experience with simulation came at a conference in the early 2000s while working with the military as a women’s health practitioner.  

She participated in a scenario in which she and others were placed in the back of a vehicle and tasked with assisting a patient experiencing cardiac arrest.

“It was so immersive,” Harder said. “It was such a powerful experience.”

As a result, she has made a point of incorporating simulation into her teaching.  

“The tech has changed, but the concepts remain the same,” she said. “It's still providing that immersive learning experience for learners.” 

Harder, also Mindermar Professor in Human Simulation, said the growing demand for health-care practitioners has led to increased enrolment across programs in the Rady Faculty.

“Yet in a lot of programs, we have not changed how we educate students,” she said.  

Simulation training, she said, can help ease constraints on clinical placements.  

“What competencies do our practitioners need to have to be successful in the health-care environment?” Harder said. “And if that means we can teach those in simulation — great — let's teach those in simulation. And let's protect the clinical environments for the things we know we can only achieve in the clinical environments.”

‘Simulation is everywhere’

Dr. Lawrence Gillman, director of the Clinical Learning and Simulation Program and associate professor of surgery in the Max Rady College of Medicine, led a session on debriefing in simulation — a component he said is essential to effective learning.  

“Simulation is everywhere,” he said. “We don't appreciate sometimes that what we're doing is simulation. But simulation isn't a modality — it isn't VR, it isn't a mannikin —  it is the planning of an educational intervention for a certain objective.”