SimTecT Conferences Downunder
Article by: Peter Hill  (Peter.Hill@simcon-services.com.au) Brisbane in Queensland, Australia was the venue for two SimTecT Conferences organized by the Simulation Industry Association of Australia (SIAA), and held in June, and mid September. In 2005, a separate SimTecT Health was spun off from the main SimTecT, to cater for the educational, rather than technological needs of the Healthcare sector. A feature of SimTecT Health is that it appeals to all disciplines: nursing, surgical, paramedic etc. Because of this, and the fact that the government is beginning to understand the benefits that a simulation environment offers to the myriad of healthcare problems, the conference is rapidly growing. The theme: "Simulation - Attaining and Maintaining Standards in Healthcare" allowed issues to be explored such as: Assessing Competence; Designing and Evaluating Simulation Scenarios; Developing Operational Standards for Facilities; Educational Standards and Standardised Patients. Interestingly, certifying simulators to a certain standard (like flight training devices) is not the major focus of health standards. A large number of speakers were invited to run workshops and give plenary talks. International keynotes were Dr Gerald Fried, Professor of Surgery at McGill University, Montreal, Canada; and Dr Dan Raemer, Associate Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School. SimTecT Health was held close to the Queensland Health Skills Development Centre - a world-leading simulation facility - which enabled practical workshops to be held. This was extremely popular, and will be increased next year. More details of SimTecT Health 2007, and the coming 2008, can be found at www.simtecthealth.com. SimTecT itself was held in June. This year there were special day-long symposiums for Mining, and Homeland Security, as a way of gauging interest in these emerging areas. As a result, these will continue to be on-going streams at SimTecT, and a Homeland Security Special Interest Group has been established. A Standards Special Presentation at SimTecT featured an introduction to SISO, prepared by Rick Severinghaus, and presented by Bill Tucker - followed by presentations on SISO Australia by Craig Pepper, and relevant papers. The next SimTecT will be held in Melbourne in mid May 2008 - see www.simtect.com - come Downunder!
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