The Simulation Professional: Gets Things Done and Attracts Opportunities

This chapter identifies the multiple tasks performed by simulation professionals, what backgrounds and characteristics are needed and best suited to expeditiously manage and execute these tasks, and what kind of compensation is required to attract and retain such professionals. The key contribution required from the simulation professional is the ability to get things done and attract opportunities. The simulation professional is not a support technician, but is an educational professional who integrates content and concepts from many different disciplines and communicates with and translates for those in many others. The simulation professional is both a day-to-day manager of a high visibility, high value asset, and a long-range leader to drive the program forward. The chapter lists the desirable qualities in a simulation professional: educator, creative, autonomous, flexible, innovative, and so on. Most of these tasks must be performed in every simulation center, and usually the simulation professional(s) will take most, if not all, responsibility for them. These tasks will vary between large and small centers and also depending on the clinical specialty. Infrequent tasks that require highly specialized capabilities, like computer network configuration and audio/video system design, may require temporarily including outside higher-level expertise than is essential for dedicated simulation professionals. The ideal simulation operations professional to consider for hiring would preferably be one with experience in other simulation centers.