The 2020 International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare

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In his role as a simulation center specialist at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Nady Rizkallah is responsible for providing operational and maintenance support for all associated equipment and software, including physiologic monitors, personal computers, and wireless communication systems. Supplementing nearly five decades of experience in this area, Nady Rizkallah holds membership with the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH).

Established in 2004, SSH works to improve the quality of healthcare via professional development in areas such as virtual reality, human patient simulators, and task trainers. To that end, it is the leading sponsor of the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH), which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in January 2020.

The 20th annual IMSH will be held from January 18 to 22 in San Diego and feature courses like “Redesign Healthcare Processes and Redefine Patient Safety Through Simulation” and “Effective Simulation Space Design.” It will also include events like the #SimFit20 Fun/Run Walk, President's Diamond Ball, and 10th Annual Serious Games & Virtual Environments Arcade & Showcase.

The event's opening plenary session will be led by Carey Lohrenz, who was the first woman in the U.S. Navy to fly the F-14 Tomcat Fighter Jet. She will speak on areas such as leadership, diversity training, and high performing organizations. Other speakers include Tim Draycott and Mick Ebeling, the latter of whom was named as one of the World's Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine.

What Is Preventive Maintenance?

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An accomplished biomedical engineer, Nady Rizkallah has over four decades of experience dealing with medical technology equipment. As a veteran in the medical industry, he has worked with multiple organizations in numerous roles. A computer science graduate with a master’s degree from California State University, Nady Rizkallah now works as a simulation center specialist at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. He focuses on technical proficiency in all aspects of operation, programming, and maintenance support for various type of medical equipment.

Maintenance support primarily focuses on preventive maintenance, which is performed on a regular basis in order to ensure electronic and computer systems perform their functions smoothly and avoid inconvenient, costly, unscheduled downtime. A preventive maintenance plan also comes in handy to ensure maintenance support activities are well prioritized. Preventive maintenance should be performed while the equipment is still in good working condition. A good preventative maintenance plan should include performing an inventory of equipment and assets that need to be maintained. All equipment to be included in maintenance should be listed, in addition to their specifications.

Prioritization is a key preventative maintenance procedure, as it is important to decide which assets should be placed first in the schedule. Ideally, the most critical assets should be first in the maintenance queue. Key issues to consider when prioritizing assets include importance of the machines to organizational success, cost of repair and replacement, and the frequency of maintenance required. To maximize returns, it makes sense to begin with equipment that needs regular maintenance and is expensive to repair. After deciding on the assets to include in a preventive maintenance plan, it is then critical to create a list of specific maintenance support tasks performed on each asset, as well as how regularly these tasks should be performed.

What to Know about Table Tennis Rubbers

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Nady Rizkallah is an experienced biomedical engineer with a career that has spanned over four decades. His current position is as a simulation center specialist at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, where he ensures technical proficiency in different operational areas. He also monitors life support systems, physiologic monitors, and personal computers at Charles Drew University Clinical Skills and Simulation Center to ensure they perform as they should. He is also a member of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. Outside of his professional life, Nady Rizkallah loves playing table tennis.

Table tennis is an exciting game, but to have fun and grow your skills, you need to invest in the right equipment. The rubber on your paddle determines your style, strategy, and overall technique. Some people opt to buy the blade and rubber separately, because purchasing them together makes it difficult to obtain a blade-rubber combination that suits a particular playing style.

Only rubbers authorized by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) are allowed in official table tennis events. When buying rubbers, ensure they have an ITTF logo to prove they are certified.

The Benefits of SSH Membership

With more than 40 years of experience as a medical software and equipment specialist, Nady Rizkallah provides oversight on the maintenance and programming of all equipment in operation at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Outside of work, Nady Rizkallah is a member of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) group.

The SSH is a nonprofit organization where professionals focused on simulation technology in medical settings work toward a higher quality of healthcare on a global scale. Its members work to advocate for and connect medical professionals to reliable, accurate information about the use of simulation in healthcare settings.

While the SSH members from some 50 countries work together to benefit the larger medical community, joining the organization offers a variety of individual member benefits. The primary benefits of membership include a free subscription to the informative periodical Simulation in Healthcare as well as access to an interactive digital platform known as SimConnect. 

Through SimConnect, professionals working in the healthcare simulation technology sector can interact directly to discuss current issues, pose research questions, and use the platform’s resource library to support their research. SSH members also can use the group’s Live Learning Center, in operation 24/7, to participate in more than 100 courses on healthcare simulation, all of which are sanctioned by the Accredited Council for Continuing Medical Education.

Full membership carries a fee of $185, while student, resident, and retired professional memberships can be procured for $80. To learn more about the application process, visit www.ssih.org/Membership-Benefits.

An Overview of Table Tennis Etiquette

As a simulation center specialist at the Charles Drew University Clinical Skills and Simulation Center (CDUCSSC), Nady Rizkallah is responsible for all equipment and technical aspects of CDUCSSC programming and operations. Away from work, Nady Rizkallah enjoys staying active by playing table tennis.

There are several aspects of table tennis etiquette that players are encouraged to adhere to during a match. One approach is prioritizing fair play before involving the umpire. This encourages sportsmanship and open communication while preparing players for effective dispute resolution for future recreational and other unofficiated matches.

Another rule of etiquette involves servers announcing the score before every point. More than just etiquette, this allows players to quickly correct any perceived issues with the match score. Furthermore, players should call a let and stop play immediately after a net ball or a loose ball rolls into the court. Players cannot play out the point and then call a let afterward.

Finally, players are advised to refrain from celebrating a point that results from an opponent’s error or a ball that catches the edge of the table. Both points are considered lucky rather than skill-based, and therefore it is considered poor sportsmanship to celebrate. Instead, the player who won the point should lift their index finger in apology. Similarly, while the sport of table tennis allows for player celebrations, individuals should avoid excessive and repeated cheering after points.

The Society for Simulation Healthcare's SimOps Event

With several decades of experience in designing, researching, and testing medical equipment, Nady Rizkallah serves as a simulation center specialist at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles. Beyond his day-to-day professional activities, Nady Rizkallah stays current in his field through membership in the Society for Simulation Healthcare (SSH). 

Throughout the year, SSH oversees several events that offer networking and collaboration activities as well as hands-on learning sessions focused on the latest trends and developments in health care simulation technology. In addition to its International Meeting on Simulation Healthcare (IMSH), the organization's other major annual events include SimOps, a conference designed for simulation operations specialists. SimOps 2018 took place July 26-28 at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. 

Educational programming at the event covered a variety of topics ranging from simulation data collection and software to 3D printing and electronic health records. The event also featured sessions on public speaking, team-based training, professional development and other topics related to leadership and simulation operations management. Outside of the learning activities, attendees also had the opportunity to meet with several exhibitors displaying the latest simulation products and technologies. 

SSH is currently busy planning SimOps 2019, which will be held July 17-19 at Eastern Virginia Medical School. More information is available at www.ssih.org.