From Boardrooms to Bedside

<>

On Oct. 31, 2024, Cameron Love, Dr. Virginia Roth, and the senior leadership team stepped into the shoes of TOH’s health-care teams at the University of Ottawa Skills & Simulation Centre.

The morning kicked off with a “theatre-based simulation.” In this scenario, a patient care attendant (PCA) panicked while transporting a patient in a stuck elevator. The team had to call for help and managed the panicked PCA. This debriefing focused on applying crisis management principles like communication, leadership and resource allocation.

Next, they faced a few hands-on challenges. The group imagined they were in a pre-op clinic, and they all had to start an IV on an arm (like in corporate nursing orientation). They also performed laparoscopic surgery in a simulated operating room and then had a Code Blue in the recovery room and had to resuscitate a patient. Nyranne Martin, Chief Legal and Risk Management Officer, really wanted to deliver a baby, so we simulated a vaginal delivery using a pregnant mannequin—a memorable highlight!

In the third and final scenario, they had a table-top exercise where they had to navigate a ransom situation that locked down Epic, the hospital’s data system.

Throughout the day, the senior leadership team gained firsthand insight into the complexity and skill required in health-care training. By the end, the whole team expressed great admiration for the work done at the simulation centre to train our interprofessional teams and the health-care professionals who train there.

A big thank you to the facilitators who coordinated this simulation day, including Jennifer Dale-Tam, Doran Drew and Glenn Posner. And a special thanks to the members of our senior leadership team (Cameron Love, Suzanne Madore, Glen Kearns, Virginia Roth, Melanie Gruer, Nathalie Cadieux, Joanne Read, Honorata Bittner and Nyranne Martin) for making the time to take part in this simulation.