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Work as Simulated - A Case Study in Applied Human Factors Use of Simulation
DescriptionHuman Factors practitioners require a 360’ understanding of the work environment in order to fully flush out system contributors and consequences to create safe, efficient and effective tools and processes. Although, the live hospital or clinic environment is optimal, there are several benefits to investigating opportunities in the simulation environment as a close proxy. I submit that simulation can act as 1) a high-fidelity, risk-free model environment with which to slow down and intimately understand processes and workflows 2) a testbed for implementation, 3) a proving ground for de-risking innovation, and 4) a sandbox for design. All of these benefits can be realized without impacting normal hospital or clinical operations. Combined with a willing cadre of experienced and curious clinicians and subject matter experts, you have all the ingredients necessary to understand the system of work.
At Carilion, our Human Factors Center of Excellence (CoE) is co-located within the Center for Simulation Research and Patient Safety intentionally to exploit these synergies. The CoE’s goal is to be a system resource for human-centered design consultation, spanning from our prime directive of patient safety and quality to construction and design, technologies services, procurement, and innovation. Our simulation team benefits from Human Factors expertise in the design and implementation of their scenarios, and the human factors team relies on the simulation staff to help develop high fidelity simulation environments understand the production work environment. The third tenant of the simulation center is our Innovations team; a group dedicated to realizing our clinician’s inventions to improve healthcare. This group harnesses our HF team’s expertise and the simulation environment to rapidly test functionality and usability of their prototypes.
In this presentation, I would like to provide a case study based on Carilion Human Factors use of our Simulation Lab in the aforementioned 4 domains and provide further context for how simulation can be incorporated in human factors work, as well as reinforcing human-centered design principles into workflow process, purchasing, design and construction decisions. I will also speak about the limitations of a simulated environment.
Author
Director of Business Strategy Human Factors and Simulation
Event Type
Oral Presentations
TimeTuesday, March 262:15pm - 2:37pm CDT
LocationSalon A-4
Tracks
Simulation and Education