IPSS: The Podcast

Dr. Samreen Vora interviews Penny Watts and Carmen Turkelson as they share their pathways into healthcare simulation, their leadership roles within INACSL, and the importance of standards of best practice. Discover how teamwork, mentorship, and global collaboration drive innovation and improve patient care through simulation.

Subscribe and share to keep up with more insightful conversations on pediatric simulation across the globe. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review to help others discover this important content from IPSS: The Podcast!

This podcast was made possible by the IPSS Podcast Subcommittee. 

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Join us in advancing healthcare simulation globally—your next opportunity begins here!

This episode is recorded live at the end of day 2 of the International Pediatric Simulation conference IPSSW 2026 Rome, Italy 4-7 May 2026.

Erin Carn-Bennett interviews first time IPSSW attendee Dr Eduardo Frias from Canada about his simulation story which began in Mexico as a trainee doctor. Eduardo speaks 4 languages and when he initially moved to Canada he applied for simulation technician roles due to his newfound passion for simulation after leaving Mexico. Eduardo shares his IPSS and simulation story and all about his innovation project “Sim Gym” which has potential to give back globally to the simulation and healthcare community through humanised and accessible technology. Join Erin and Eduardo as they meet as strangers and leave as IPSS friends both inspired and hopeful from this amazing presentation and work. Welcome to IPSS Eduardo!

Dr. Eduardo Frias is a Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition Fellow at McGill University, with a strong academic focus on medical simulation and healthcare education.

He is an active member of the Centre for Pediatric Simulation at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and a senior instructor in the Disaster Simulation Program at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, where he has also served as a program development advisor, supporting the growth and strategic implementation of simulation curricula. His work extends internationally through collaborations with institutions across Latin America, focusing on scalable and context-adapted simulation-based education.

Dr. Frias leads the Sim Gym program at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, a simulation-based initiative that emphasizes deliberate practice with asynchronous evaluation to develop both technical and non-technical skills, enhancing clinical performance and patient safety.

Dr. Frias has received recognition for his contributions to medical education, including a Mention of Honour in Education at the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal and the Dr. Sadok Besrour Award for his innovative educational projects with direct impact on patient care.

In this episode, Dr. Samreen Vora speaks with Dr. Peter Dieckmann who shares insights into the emotional impact of simulation trainings, the importance of facilitation, and the moral considerations inherent in designing and running simulations. We delve into how psychological safety, systemic biases, and diverse perspectives shape effective faculty development and simulation practices. 

Join us at IPSSW 2026 in Rome, Italy to meet Dr Dieckmann. 

Subscribe and share to keep up with more insightful conversations on pediatric simulation across the globe. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review to help others discover this important content from IPSS: The Podcast!

This podcast was made possible by The Starship Foundation and IPSS Podcast Subcommittee. 

Follow us on Instragram @ipss_global 

Are you signed up for IPSSW 2026 in Rome?

In this episode, we explore how simulation-based education transforms pediatric psychosocial care, emphasizing emotional safety. Sarah Patterson shares her journey from child life specialist to integrating simulation into healthcare training, highlighting innovative strategies to reduce trauma and prevent emotional harm in children and families.

Key topics:

This episode underscores how integrating emotional safety into pediatric healthcare, through innovative simulation practices, can transform patient experiences and provider well-being.

Sarah Patterson, a Child Life Specialist at McMaster University in Canada. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, and the Curriculum Coordinator for the Master's of Science in Child Life and Pediatric Psychosocial Care Program in the Faculty of Health Sciences. She is the Immediate Past President of the board of directors of the Association of Child Life Professionals. Her passion is in psychosocial care and emotional safety initiatives within simulation-based education.

Subscribe and share to keep up with more insightful conversations on pediatric simulation across the globe. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review to help others discover this important content from IPSS: The Podcast!

This podcast was made possible by The Starship Foundation and IPSS Podcast Subcommittee.  This podcast was produced by Denish Kumar.

Follow us on Instragram @ipss_global 

Are you signed up for IPSSW 2026 in Rome?

In this episode Erin Carn-Bennett (RN, MSN) from Douglas Starship Simulation Program in Auckland, New Zealand interviews Dr Cristina Diaz-Navarro for IPSS the Podcast.

Professor Cristina Diaz-Navarro is a Consultant Anaesthetist, the Academic Head for Perioperative Care at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

She is the Chair of the Simulation Advisory Group at the Royal College of Anaesthetists.

Cristina is also an Honorary Professor in Medical Education at the School of Medicine, Cardiff University and an Associate Professor for the School of Medicine and Healthcare Sciences at the University of Barcelona.

She is currently the President Elect for the European Simulation Society (SESAM). 

During her role as chair of the SESAM Scientific Committee, she led the publication of the Global Consensus Statement on Healthcare Simulation.

Cristina is also the lead author in the creation of the TALK approach to clinical debriefing, which has been translated to 9 languages and is used in 30 countries, and chairs the Board of Trustees of the TALK Foundation (www.talkdebrief.org).

As an associate dean for simulation at Health Education and Improvement Wales her focus was on faculty development and quality assurance in simulation.

As an Executive Committee Member at the Association for Simulation in Healthcare Practice (ASPiH), she led the development of the ASPiH Standards 2023.

Cristina has been involved in simulation based education and debriefing since 2006. She enjoys developing innovative simulation based projects that encourage new perspectives for reflection on everyday elements of healthcare. 

Resources mentioned in this episode are linked below:

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/cristina-diaz-navarro-936b4117

https://www.aspeducators.org/

https://www.sesam-web.org/

https://www.talkdebrief.org/talk-foundation

https://www.starship.org.nz/guidelines/ace-review-after-critical-event/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11823216/

https://journals.lww.com/simulationinhealthcare/abstract/9900/sim2lead__a_new_era_in_leadership_training_for.223.aspx

In this episode, Dr Samreen Vora sits down with Dr Victoria Brazil to talk about her recently published article on Visually Enhanced Mental Simulation (VEMS) — what it is, why it matters, how it can help healthcare teams train more efficiently and effectively, and what the implications are for simulation education and patient-care systems. They explore the origins of VEMS, how it compares with traditional simulation methods, case-examples of implementation, design and delivery recommendations, and reflections on future directions for simulation practice.

About Dr Victoria Brazil:

Please note that Dr Brazil is founder/co-founder of Simulation Simplified which provides simulation-based educational tools and services. Listeners should understand that while the discussion draws on her research and professional experience, any references to products or services from Simulation Simplified do not constitute an endorsement by the podcast. No commercial relationship exists other than Dr Brazil’s role with the company.

About the Host:

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Subscribe and share to keep up with more insightful conversations on pediatric simulation across the globe. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review to help others discover this important content from IPSS: The Podcast!

This podcast was made possible by The Starship Foundation and IPSS Podcast Subcommittee.  This podcast was produced by Denish Kumar.

Follow us on Instragram @ipss_global 

Are you signed up for IPSSW 2026 in Rome?

Host: Erin Carn-Bennett, Simulation Nurse Educator, Douglas Starship Simulation Programme

Episode Overview

Jane currently serves as Nurse Lead for the Critical Care Simulation Team in the Emergency Department, supporting simulation services across the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. She is deeply passionate about harnessing simulation not only as a teaching tool for clinical and teamwork skills but also as a driver for quality improvement and patient safety.

Since 2004, Jane has been an Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) instructor and, since 2020, a member of the APLS support team, helping develop faculty, strengthen learner-centred teaching, and update programs with modern educational approaches. Her qualifications include a Paediatric Certificate, Paediatric Critical Care Certificate, Graduate Diploma in Clinical Teaching, a Harvard Medical Simulation Certificate, and APLS Instructor status.

What We Talk About in This Episode

About the Host

In this episode of IPSS: The Podcast, Dr. Elaine Ng interviews Dr. Lennox Huang at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Huang is a staff physician in the Pediatric Critical Care Unit and the Chief Medical Officer and Vice-President for Medical and Academic Affairs. From his unique position as a clinician, educator and healthcare administrator, he shares his experiences in simulation through the years, and suggestions for future work. He currently sits on the board of the Global Network for Simulation in Healthcare (GNSH) and provided information on the work that is being done and the upcoming summit in October 2025.

Subscribe and share to keep up with more insightful conversations on pediatric simulation across the globe. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review to help others discover this important content from IPSS: The Podcast!

This podcast was made possible by the IPSS Podcast Subcommittee and The Starship Foundation.  This podcast was produced the IPSS Podcast Subcommittee.

Follow us on Instragram @ipss_global 

Join us for an insightful conversation with Dr. Devin Singh, an emergency physician at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and a leading expert in technical artificial intelligence. Dr. Singh, one of Canada's first physicians to specialize in AI, holds a Master's in Computer Science from the University of Toronto and is a co-founder and CEO of HeroAI. This episode delves into the transformative potential of AI in healthcare, particularly in pediatrics and simulation, and explores the critical role of simulation in its responsible development and deployment.

Subscribe and share to keep up with more insightful conversations on pediatric simulation across the globe. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review to help others discover this important content from IPSS: The Podcast!

This podcast was made possible by the IPSS Podcast Subcommittee and The Starship Foundation.  This podcast was produced by Denish Kumar and the IPSS Podcast Subcommittee.

Follow us on Instragram @ipss_global 

In this episode, Dr. Elaine Ng interviews Dr. Sujatha Thyagarajan, Paediatric Consultant at Aster RV and Aster Women & Children Hospital in Bangalore, India. Dr. Sujatha is a founding member, secretary and treasurer of PediSTARS India (Pediatric Simulation and Training Research Society) which was founded in 2013. Listen in as she reflects on the early days of PediSTARS and shares her insights in making simulation-based education accessible to everyone. 

Subscribe and share to keep up with more insightful conversations on pediatric simulation across the globe. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review to help others discover this important content from IPSS: The Podcast!

This podcast was made possible by The Starship Foundation and IPSS Podcast Subcommittee.  

This podcast was produced by Denish Kumar.