SUN Brazil 2022: SIMZINE’s first visit to Latin America

We flew to Sao Paulo in Brazil to participate in the SUN – Simulation User Network, organized by Laerdal Medical. Here is the account of the experience.

SIMZINE’s first ocean crossing took place last September, on the occasion of SUN (Simulation User Network) Brazil 2022, the clinical simulation congress organized by Laerdal Medical, Hospital Sirio Libanes and ABRASSIN (Brazilian Association for Simulation in Health). SIMZINE’s first landing in Latin America took place precisely at the Sirio Libanes Hospital in Sao Paulo, from September 8th to 10th, 2022, in the presence of the greatest simulation professionals from the entire American continent.

The objective of SUN events is to share the most advanced knowledge in simulation, with specific training activities for each health discipline, and to provide an opportunity for all professionals in the sector to meet and debate.

At SUN, conferences are always accompanied by hands-on workshops: this edition especially saw a mix of face-to-face and online events, as it was decided to extend access even to those unable to attend in person. The quality of the conference is guaranteed by Laerdal, a pioneering company in medical care simulation, the Sirio Libanes Hospital Education and Research Institute, and a Scientific Commission made up of 8 simulation experts who were in charge of defining the topics covered on the agenda. Laerdal makes its experience available to all simulation users by organizing educational events that cross borders. In fact, over the course of 10 years, SUN has connected more than 20,000 professionals around the world.

“Realistic clinical simulation is a teaching methodology in full expansion and adoption worldwide. We have evolved a lot in Brazil in recent years, but the opportunity of activities like this, so that health education professionals have an environment to discuss new techniques, exchange experiences and, above all, develop a network among their peers, is essential»

comments Reinaldo Lino, Vice President for Latin America of Laerdal Medical,

“Clinical simulation is already a reality in our health faculties, especially in Medicine and Nursing careers, but as we intensify the debates related to patient safety and the improvement of quality in our hospitals, simulation-based education is shown to be an effective and efficiently proven tool».

Some of the most illustrious speakers in this sector took part in the Brazil 2022 edition, such as Dr. Susan Niermeyer, who spoke about training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the neonatal period in low-income countries, and Dr. Ross Scalese, whose intervention was focused on the use of simulation in hospitals to ensure patient safety. However, one of the topics that was given more space is that of technology as a healthcare tool.

«LATAM must advance in the use of Simulation-Based Education with greater standardization and training of simulationists. Congresses such as SUN and others, in addition to scientific societies, are key for this methodology to be used on a massive scale and to move towards safe health» explains Eliana Escudero Zuniga, SIM-Educator Consultant from Santiago de Chile and keynote of the congress, and continues «Personally I enjoy attending spaces like these, because they are very valuable in terms of what is learned and it always gives the opportunity to see great friends again. It is also where great collaborative projects and acknowledgements are consolidated.”

Click here to read the interview to Eliana Escudero: