In mid-September, students and faculty came together for a variety of activities aimed at raising awareness of how simulation strengthens the School of Nursing's academic programs. Healthcare Simulation Week, sponsored by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, is an annual, global effort to showcase the importance of simulation in health care education, training and patient safety.

"It is important to recognize health care simulation because it is a celebration of progress, innovation and collaboration in health care training," said Laura-Klenke Borgman, Ph.D., RN, CHSE, director of simulation education and clinical associate professor. "This week serves as a reminder of the continuous efforts simulation educators make to improve health care delivery."

Activities for the week included an escape room contest among KU nursing faculty. Teams were challenged to "escape" by using their cue recognition and clinical judgment skills.

KU School of Nursing and the Zamierowski Institute for Experiential Learning also co-hosted a coffee break for the KU Medical Center campus community. During the break, both teams collaborated to bring visibility to the amazing simulation-based learning that occurs at the medical center daily.

Employees and students had the chance to try their hand at "moulage," a technique used to create realistic injuries for the training of health care students. Students and staff played with makeup to create bruises, scrapes and cuts.

"We've had a lot of fun this week bringing awareness to health care simulation," said Klenke-Borgman. "It's important because simulation is crucial in nursing education. It helps students contextualize learning, bridge the academic-practice gap and innovate the way they learn and retain important information."