Alaa Aldalati, MD

Secretary

Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

I graduated from Alfaisal University Medical school, Saudi Arabia in 2018. The path for emergency medicine residency as an international graduate was not an easy one, yet, persistence was a key. I pursued emergency medicine residency at the Mayo Clinic in which I was elected as a chief resident. I’m currently a simulation fellow at Brown Emergency Medicine. Throughout residency and fellowship, I have had multiple national rules. I served as the resident ambassador for the American Board of Emergency Medicine from 2020-20222. I’m currently the vice chair for the young physicians subcommittee under SAEM simulation. I’m also the vice-chair for the simulation committee at EMRA.

I’m looking forward to join SAEM simulation executive committee as a simulation fellow. It is a great opportunity to work closely with the leaders in simulation nationally. I’m hoping to join the expertise to promote and make networking and mentorship opportunities that would highly impact the professional career development for simulation fellows and young physicians. If I get elected, I’d do my best to aid in fulfilling the Simulation Academy mission. 

Diana Yan, MD

Secretary

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

I have been on the SAEM Simulation Academy executive committee as a guest for the last year. I organize the bimonthly SAEM Sim Academy Mentor Hour Events. I have been on the SAEM Simulation Academy executive committee as a guest for the last 2 years as the organizer for SAEM Simulation Academy's mentor hour events. These events have been highly successful in bringing simulation leaders across the country to talk about their projects and career paths with the goal of us gaining a few invaluable pearls of wisdom. We have covered topics from community simulation to mixing QI with simulation to infusing communication learning objectives into high fidelity simulation. I will bring my organizational skills to this role as secretary and keep everyone on the same page.

Michael S. Hrdy, MD, MSEd

Treasurer

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

My name is Michael Hrdy, MD, MSEd and it would be my great honor to continue to serve as the Simulation Academy treasurer. Over the past year I have had the fortune to work with the rest of the executive committee to make sure we have the funding to support the needs of our members. Due to a successful membership drive, the Simulation Academy has been given a substantial increase over our previous budget and we’ve been able to fund new member benefits such as simulation innovations grants, travel scholarships and research awards, not to mention the fabulous membership mixers after major conferences. Over my first year as treasurer, I’ve built relationships that have deepened my understanding of the budgetary processes of SAEM and next year I’d like to see how much further we can go for our members. I would like to work closely with the rest of the executive committee to help identify new opportunities for providing novel benefits for our members with our recently increased budget.

I’m an assistant professor in the division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and I am the assistant director of emergency medicine simulation education at CHOP. I have been developing and facilitating simulation sessions since my PEM fellowship and simulation is at the core of my academic career.

I have worked with the Simulation Academy since 2018 and as a result I have facilitated multiple Simulation Academy-sponsored workshops at national meetings and co-authored several simulation education publications, with several exciting collaborations still in process.

Stephanie Stapleton, MD

Treasurer

Boston Medical Center/Boston University

I am the director of emergency medicine simulation at Boston Medical Center and assistant professor of emergency medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. I have extensive experience designing and running simulation-based education, quality improvement and research programs involving multiple disciplines and professions. This has required significant skills in time management, communication and problem solving.

I have served on the Simulation Academy research & scholarship subcommittee since its inception, beginning as vice chair, then elected to the executive committee position of vice president of research & scholarship. This has allowed me to see how the Simulation Academy works from the ground up. The mentorship, collaboration, and the building of a scholarly community is what keeps me excited and is why I am running for treasurer.

During my time on the executive committee, I have focused on building and supporting an accessible simulation research community, creating scholarship and funding opportunities, and connecting with other research groups. This work has resulted in four publications, a new Just-In-Time award for promising simulation research projects, a new grant application guide, and collaborations with the SAEM research committee and INSPIRE. These projects required goal-oriented and communicative leadership while maintaining a collaborative approach.

I am running for treasurer to further support and grow our community and elevate our professional standings. I will continue to work within our academy to create a collaborative and inquisitive culture that explores and advances the simulation world. I will continue to work with other committees and groups to strengthen our organizational opportunities and create mutually beneficial products. I want us to learn from each other, support each other, laugh with each other and look good on our CVs!

Taylor Cesarz, MD

Fellow

University of Wisconsin

My name is Taylor Cesarz and I am running for a fellow position on the SAEM Simulation Academy executive committee. I am currently a simulation fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My journey with simulation started during residency. Early on in residency, as a learner, I found myself gravitating toward simulation as a way to explore knowledge deficits and enhance my own learning in an engaging way. As I progressed through residency, I found myself becoming even more passionate about simulation from the perspective of an educator, and I began getting involved in simulation education for medical students and co-residents. I am seeking out a position because I want to find ways to connect to the larger simulation community and effect change on a national level.

Throughout residency, I was fortunate to have had a lot of exposure to simulation, providing me the chance to continually learn new skills to use during simulation education. I have had numerous opportunities to both design and run scenarios as well as practice important simulation principles such as pre-and debriefing. I was also able to help write and facilitate a case for the 2023 SAEM SimWars. Perhaps my favorite project, and the one which solidified my decision to pursue simulation as a career, was creating a multi-institutional gamified simulation race for emergency medicine residents. My motivation for this project stemmed from my enthusiasm for both innovation and gamification in resident education. Both SAEM SimWars as well as EMRA MedWars played a part in my inspiration.

While I was creating this race, I scoured the internet for resources to help me in the design; while there were some resources available, they were not always easy to find. I quickly learned how many hours of dedication and resources it takes to host a successful simulation event. With a national network like SAEM, I believe there are many simulation projects that may be useful to other members of the simulation community. As medical education continues to evolve, I foresee many more innovative simulation projects on the horizon. With that being said, it would be my goal to bring this spirit of innovation to the committee and develop forums for members to easily search for and/or exchange ideas of projects and resources to promote simulation and advance medical education, national collaboration, and simulation research.

My experience as a fellow thus far has taught me the importance of a collaborative community in the simulation and scholarly world. For fellows and junior faculty, navigating the challenges of transitioning to a new attending role while developing the skills to become leaders in simulation education can be difficult. I would like to work with other members of the executive committee to create support and mentoring opportunities for different levels of simulationists. My hope is to be able to create resources for project development, publishing simulation research, and the opportunity to receive mentoring from more senior leaders for our simulation committee members.

Danier Ong, MD

Fellow

Saint Louis University

I am currently chief resident at the Saint Louis University emergency medicine residency program, and I was recently accepted to the University of California, Davis simulation fellowship program. Additionally, I previously served as vice chair of the Emergency Medicine Residents Association simulation committee in 2023 - 2024. These roles have given me valuable leadership experience, as well as personal insight into some of the challenges that prospective simulation fellows face as they define their future careers.

Prospective simulation fellows benefit from mentorship and networking to guide their professional trajectory. The Simulation Academy holds an experienced pool of simulation faculty and serves as an ideal source for career guidance. If elected, my primary goal would involve improving outreach to prospective and current simulation fellows and early career simulation faculty. I believe this can be achieved with increased social media outreach and increased collaboration with residents and medical students (RAMS).

As chief resident and the lead for my residency program’s social committee, I feel confident that I have the organizational and communication skills to help the Simulation Academy reach a larger audience. For example, further utilization of the Simulation Academy instagram would be an excellent avenue to not only engage the next generation of simulation educators, but also tailor Simulation Academy events to the needs of our younger members. Additionally, I would like to establish a mentorship track between Simulation Academy and RAMS. Finally, I would be interested in developing publicly available Simulation Academy educational materials and guides for those seeking a career in simulation. These efforts will enable the Simulation Academy to stand out as the primary voice and most comprehensive avenue for simulation mentorship.

Haley Plattner

Fellow

Rush University

I am the current simulation fellow at Brown Emergency Medicine in Providence, RI and a fellow in the Masters of Education in the Health Professions program through Johns Hopkin’s University. Whether engaging with large, multidisciplinary teams or small groups of medical students, I have always found it very rewarding to create opportunities for learning and reflection through simulation and have continually sought involvement in medical education, research design, and quality improvement during my residency and fellowship. My current research is focused on formalized de-escalation training for residents and front desk staff at our hospitals as well as mixed methods program evaluation for our physician peer support program. I feel my background in medical education, research, and peer mentorship will allow me to cultivate stronger connections and collaboration between students, residents, and early career physicians invested in simulation across the nation. I hope to further connect simulation fellows in similar regions either virtually or in-person to connect, share ideas, and collaborate, as well as invest in mentorship and research partnerships for young physicians in simulation nationally.

Sarah Rose Rabinowitz, MD

Fellow

Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra-Northwell

Hello, I’m Sarah Rabinowitz, and I would love to serve you as fellow for the Simulation Academy executive committee. One of my passions in life is education. Prior to medical school, I have held multiple leadership positions in pursuit of this passion; I have worked as a private tutor, college teaching assistant, substitute teacher, volunteer in art therapy, and held leadership positions in student organizations. In medical school at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, I continued my involvement in education by becoming a student leader in the clinical ultrasound course, multiple student interest groups, and served as a mentor for junior medical students and pre-medical students. I joined SAEM as a medical student when I chose to pursue a career in emergency medicine. During residency at the Zucker Northwell Health, I have continued to serve as an educator, mentor and promoted recruitment to our program. I decided to pursue a fellowship in Simulation because of my passion for being an educator and belief that experiential learning provides the highest quality education with the added benefit of being highly enjoyable and promoting teamwork and collaboration.

I am running for the fellow position on the executive committee because I want to strengthen the academic simulation community and grow in my leadership within the simulation profession. I hope to improve mentorship, networking opportunities between alumni and current residents/fellows, and involvement in the academy. I want to promote more learning opportunities and distribution of educational content. I feel that the executive committee and academy can better serve its members in promoting simulation programs across the country, marketing learning opportunities including Terrific Tuesday meetings and improving overall outreach and engagement. We have a lot of great resources and content on the SAEM Simulation Academy website and promoting access to these resources can increase involvement among members. I propose that one way we can do this is through advancing our utilization of social media and our professional network. I want to continue to arrange professional development events and webinars and host networking events during conferences and over Zoom. Overall, if elected, I aim to use my position to strengthen the simulation community and encourage growth for the academy and its members.

Katherine Stewart, MD

Fellow

Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

I am the current simulation fellow at Brown Emergency Medicine in Providence, RI and a fellow in the Masters of Education in the health professions program through Johns Hopkin’s University. Whether engaging with large, multidisciplinary teams or small groups of medical students, I have always found it very rewarding to create opportunities for learning and reflection through simulation and have continually sought involvement in medical education, research design, and quality improvement during my residency and fellowship. My current research is focused on formalized de-escalation training for residents and front desk staff at our hospitals as well as mixed methods program evaluation for our physician peer support program. I feel my background in medical education, research, and peer mentorship will allow me to cultivate stronger connections and collaboration between students, residents, and early career physicians invested in simulation across the nation. I hope to further connect simulation fellows in similar regions either virtually or in-person to connect, share ideas, and collaborate, as well as invest in mentorship and research partnerships for young physicians in simulation nationally.