Symposium Opening
Morning Session – Part 1
Dr Mia McLanders from the Clinical Skills Development Service (CSDS), uses Human Factors principles to highlight how clinical environments, tools, and processes influence performance. In this presentation, she demonstrates why merely adding rules, policies, or training isn’t always effective; instead, thoughtful design and usability testing of medical devices, algorithms, and workflows are crucial for making clinicians’ jobs easier and safer. Through compelling examples—such as adjusting equipment markings or improving emergency protocols—Dr McLanders shows how Human Factors research leads to better skill transfer, enhanced safety, and more resilient healthcare systems.
Kim Gourlay from The Prince Charles Hospital, provides a ground-level perspective of how simulation initiatives evolve to meet real-world challenges in this presentation. From setting up realistic birth simulations in the Emergency Department and developing structured learning pathways for new graduates, to facilitating crisis exercises during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim highlights how simulation is used not only to improve technical competencies, but also to refine communication, streamline patient transfers, and integrate multidisciplinary teams. Whether testing innovative routes for patient movement, practicing intubation in constrained conditions, or honing advanced procedures such as ECMO and vascular access, these simulations adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. They ensure that clinicians at all levels—doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and even support staff—can develop the confidence and readiness to provide high-quality, patient-centred care.
Morning Session – Part 2
In this presentation, Dr Nathan Peters addresses the difficulty of placing intravenous (IV) lines in patients with complex vascular access. Although ultrasound offers a powerful solution, frontline clinicians initially struggled to adopt it effectively. To tackle this, Dr Peters and CSDS developed an online and in-person blended training course on ultrasound-guided IV cannulation. Originally intended to support junior doctors at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, the course’s online theory component was released at no cost during COVID-19. This generous approach led to widespread uptake across Queensland and beyond, with rural, regional, and even international clinicians benefiting. As a result, ultrasound-guided IV placement is now more consistently performed with confidence and improved patient experience.
Dr Toby Lyndham and Michael Guerin share their experiences implementing a two-day critical care workshop for clinicians in rural and remote hospitals in this presentation. In these isolated settings, patients often arrive with severe conditions but without immediate access to specialists or comprehensive resources. The workshop, part of the Emergency Medicine Education and Training (EMET) program, focuses on practical skills like intraosseous (IO) access and surgical airway procedures. Initially, standard part-task trainers didn’t reflect the complexity of obese or anatomically challenging patients. To bridge this gap, the educators modified training models, adding layers of simulated fatty tissue and introducing resistance to fluid flow. These simple, low-cost adaptations helped participants better understand real-world difficulties, such as choosing the correct needle length in obese patients or dealing with resistance during IO infusion. By creating more realistic simulation conditions, learners gain hands-on experience that builds confidence and competence.
Overall, these stories underscore a common theme: by identifying the real-world clinical problems, redesigning training materials and scenarios, and leveraging accessible online and in-person educational tools, clinicians everywhere—especially in rural and remote areas—are better prepared to handle emergencies. This not only enhances their skill sets but also improves patient outcomes and experiences.
Afternoon Session – Part 1
In this session, two speakers share their personal experiences and insights into how simulation-based education has evolved over the years, moving beyond critical care scenarios into broader applications that improve patient safety and clinical practice across a range of healthcare settings.
Dr Ben Symon discusses the complexity of measuring the impact of simulation and educational interventions. Traditionally, educators have strived to prove that their programs directly improve patient outcomes—a challenge that can be statistically and logistically overwhelming. Instead, Ben argues for a more pragmatic approach, focusing on measuring how simulation affects healthcare systems and processes rather than individual patient mortality or morbidity. By shifting attention to tangible changes in clinical environments—such as making improvements in drug administration processes, equipment availability, and system workflows—Simon’s team at the STORK service was able to document meaningful improvements. Following up on identified issues post-training, and maintaining diligent, repeated communication with local staff, proved more effective than trying to statistically prove direct patient-level outcomes. This shift highlights the importance of mission-oriented measurement that is both achievable and directly supports healthcare teams in making their systems safer and more efficient.
Andi Thompson reflects on a career spanning from the early days of hospital-based nursing training to the modern era of high-fidelity simulation. Initially, simulation scenarios focused primarily on critical care, trauma, and emergency events—high-stakes situations that were relatively straightforward to simulate and debrief. Over time, however, Andi’s team realised that the principles of crisis resource management and critical thinking needed to spread beyond the ICU and ED into the wards, where subtle patient deterioration is easily missed. Designing scenarios for ward nurses meant confronting new challenges: no dramatic rescues or complicated procedures, just subtle clinical signs that required careful assessment, interpretation, and escalation of care. Although initially met with skepticism from ward nurses—some fearing judgment or not seeing the relevance—these programs gradually gained acceptance. By reframing patient assessment as a critical thinking exercise and focusing on gathering and interpreting data (like accurately measuring respiratory rate), Andi’s team helped nurses recognise that their everyday work is truly “critical care.” The payoff is in the quiet “light bulb moments” where nurses realise their capability to detect problems earlier and provide better patient care.
Afternoon Session – Part 2
This presentation by Melissa Andison and Ross Hadfield explores how to nurture innovation in healthcare by balancing risk and opportunity. The speakers acknowledge that healthcare faces mounting pressures—rising patient demand, constrained resources, and complex clinical environments. Without embracing innovation, healthcare risks stagnating like once-thriving industries that failed to evolve. Instead, organisations can create a culture that empowers clinical teams to test new ideas, accept “safe-to-fail” experiments, and learn from mistakes.
Key points include:
- Health systems often fear that trying something new means risking patient safety or incurring reputational or financial damage. However, true innovation comes from understanding and mitigating real hazards rather than being paralysed by perceived threats. By using structured risk assessment tools—like fishbone diagrams—teams can differentiate real from perceived risk and address underlying causes of concern.
- Innovation flourishes in cultures that value psychological safety, curiosity, and continuous learning. Leaders should promote growth mindsets, allocate time for skill development, and encourage open debate. Selecting and promoting staff who demonstrate creativity, adaptability, and a willingness to challenge the status quo can shift an organisation toward more innovative thinking.
- Effective innovation requires alignment with organisational strategy, securing executive buy-in, and appropriately managing funding and governance. Rather than treating innovation as a side project, it should be integrated into everyday work. Tools like maturity models, design thinking methods, and critical-thinking frameworks help structure innovation efforts and measure progress incrementally.
By cultivating strong leadership, supportive cultures, and robust frameworks for assessing and managing risk, healthcare teams can push beyond the status quo. Embracing iterative experiments and targeted risk management enables health services to adapt, improve, and ultimately deliver better patient outcomes in a sustainable way. A digital “goodie bag” of resources and references is provided to guide teams in developing their own innovation capabilities.
Panel Discussion
This panel discussion concludes a day of reflection and visioning about the future of clinical skills training, simulation, and healthcare innovation. The key themes included:
- While traditionally focused on patient outcomes, panelists emphasised the importance of demonstrating value in other ways. Value-based simulation and training can improve systems, identify latent safety threats, enhance staff well-being, and inform better organisational decisions. These indirect benefits are often easier to measure and can be just as compelling for stakeholders as clinical outcome data.
- Sustaining innovation and educational excellence requires strategic thinking and supportive infrastructure. Panelists called for standardised courses, policies, and procedures to reduce duplication of effort and ensure consistency across the healthcare system. They also proposed national or statewide guidelines, collaborative networks, and better procurement practices that leverage collective input to select cost-effective, clinician-informed solutions.
- Successful innovation demands a culture that accepts intelligent risk-taking. Instead of viewing current practices as risk-free and new ideas as risky, leaders and organisations should acknowledge the hidden costs and risks of the status quo. Encouraging safer, small-scale trials, engaging end-users in co-design, and having strong, forward-thinking leadership can help normalize risk as a necessary component of improvement rather than a barrier.
- Panelists highlighted the challenge of keeping pace with rapidly evolving clinical and technological demands. They advocated investing in workforce pipelines, integrating digital skills training, and supporting adaptive, hybrid skill sets to help clinicians manage new tools. The use of data-driven decision-making, digital resources, and close collaborations with vendors and design experts can future-proof the workforce and health systems.
- Involving those with lived experience, as well as frontline clinicians, is essential for meaningful innovation. Co-design approaches ensure that changes address real needs, improve workflow, and resonate with both providers and patients.
In closing, the panel’s key takeaways include leveraging value-based measurements, adopting standardised best practices, fostering innovation-friendly leadership, and maintaining a strong focus on end-user involvement. With these strategies, health services can continue to evolve clinical skills training and educational programs to meet the complexities of the future.
