Simulation Center
Simulation Center achieves five years of outstanding innovation
As it celebrates its fifth anniversary, the Sim Center continues to embrace new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to expand the scope and quality of its training programs for medical students, residents, health care providers and other learners. Watch video
As one of the largest state-of-the-art simulation facilities in the nation, UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Simulation Center creates real-life environments through cutting-edge technologies, such as virtual reality, for health care learners to develop into becoming effective, compassionate, and competent clinicians. Our enhanced simulation program integrates best-practice educational theories, high-fidelity environments, and innovative teaching modalities.
We provide learning opportunities to all disciplines and practitioner populations promoting UT Southwestern’s vision of the future of medicine, today.
What is Simulation?
Simulation involves training health care providers for experiences that they’ll encounter in the real world – and helps expand the breadth and depth of their skills by offering a safe environment, where they have the opportunity to reach mastery.
Like the practice of medicine itself, the training of physicians and other health care professionals has evolved as new technologies and methods have appeared.
Today’s training often involves the use of high-tech simulators that closely replicate diseases and conditions that physicians encounter in the real world.
For patients, simulation training enhances the quality and safety of the care they receive as providers are better prepared and more proficient during their training years and as they enter practice.
For trainees, simulation provides experiential learning, in real real-world setting, where they can develop required skills, knowledge, and attitudes to become exceptional clinicians.
Through simulation, learners are exposed to multiple aspects of patient care, giving them an opportunity to practice clinical and behavioral skills, including:
- Clinical reasoning and decision-making
- Effective interprofessional teamwork
- Medical crisis resolution
- Proper communication
- Safe and effective procedures
Our team of simulation experts is dedicated to producing and delivering high-quality simulation activities for the health care students, residents, and fellows in our education programs. We also provide ongoing training for practitioners across our institution. Simulation as a teaching/learning and assessment strategy requires skilled educators; please see our professional development opportunities described on the Resources tab of this webpage.
8th Annual Simulation Forum
The UT Southwestern Simulation Center will host its Charles Morris Ginsburg Simulation-Based Quality Improvement and Research Forum on May 21, 2025.
The immersive, daylong hybrid forum will unite individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, all sharing a keen interest in the fast-advancing world of simulation-based learning.
There will be poster and oral presentations, and work that has been previously presented or published is welcome. Additionally, new ideas under development can seek mentorship via our emerging ideas section.
We are now accepting abstracts and emerging ideas until Jan. 26. Please visit the event page for more information on how to submit.
Opportunities for Professional Development in Simulation
We currently offer two courses to assist faculty and other interested educators in their development as simulation facilitators/educators:
Simulation Cornerstones of Best Practice*
This self-paced, online professional development offering is designed for the novice simulation educator and provides a foundation for further growth as a simulationist.
The course consists of 5 brief modules including an Introduction, followed by Facilitation, Prebriefing, the Debriefing Process, and Professional Integrity; these are four of the 10 Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice in SimulationTM (HSSOBPTM). These four standards will provide simulation educators with the foundational knowledge and requisite skills to deliver effective learning experiences using simulation.
ALL instructors who facilitate simulation activities at UT Southwestern are strongly encouraged to take the Simulation Cornerstones of Best Practice course, which serves as a pre-requisite for the Simulation 101: Developing Excellence in Simulation-Based Education course.
Simulation 101: Developing Excellence in Simulation-Based Education**
This course is intended for the healthcare educator who wants to take a deeper dive into understanding simulation as a teaching/learning/assessment strategy. It is a blended theory course, which includes self-paced modules completed ahead of a two-day in-person workshop. During the course, participants are guided step-by-step, through the creation of a simulation scenario. These simulation scenarios are implemented on the second day of the workshop with expert mentorship provided by course directors.
The course is offered 3-4 times per year, depending upon # of applicants; cohort sizes are limited to 5 participants maximum.
Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit is offered for this course.
If interested, please complete the Sim 101 application by returning it to Ian Nazareno via Ian.Nazareno@utsouthwestern.edu.
** All faculty wishing to develop/host their own simulation course/activity are strongly encouraged to participate in this course.
If you have any questions regarding these courses or other professional development opportunities, including certification as a simulation educator, please Jeanne.Carey@utsouthwestern.edu Jeanne Carey.
Simulation Innovation Award (SIA) Nominee Submission
On behalf of Sherry Huang, M.D.,
Calling all expert simulationists with an interest in research – apply now for the Simulation Innovation Award (SIA)
This is an award of $10,000 that will be immediately available for faculty members on the Clinician-Educator Track.
The goal of the award is to provide financial support for projects designed to facilitate the growth of state-of-the-art simulation research or curricular design. There will be five awards.
A department chair at UT Southwestern will nominate candidates for SIA support. The candidate must have a full-time faculty appointment with an interest in simulation-based scholarly activities and a sufficient time commitment from the department chair to complete the designated project.
The program requires nomination by the respective chair, a letter of commitment from the designated mentor, a written proposal, a budget, and a departmental commitment of matching funding. Outcome markers will include one or more of the following: presentation(s) at peer-reviewed meetings, publication(s) in peer-reviewed journals, receipt of competitive funding, a copyright, a patent, the incorporation of the product of the project into the UME or GME core curriculums and/or the creation of a successful scholarly collaboration with a colleague in the THR network. An additional year of funding may be available.
Applications will be accepted throughout the academic year and should be addressed to Kelley Boultinghouse via Email.