The Center for Medical Simulation and Mater Education, our affiliate program in Brisbane, Australia, have renewed our affiliation for an additional five years. CMS and Mater Education had previously been affiliated for three years from 2014 to 2017.

The previous three years of collaboration between Mater Education and CMS have been productive and rewarding for both groups. CMS has sent faculty to Australia on multiple occasions to lead weeklong courses. These courses, for both hospital care teams and leadership, emphasize simulation as teaching tool, as well as strategies for speaking up and holding difficult conversations, all in the name of improving patient safety. CMS also provides consulting and resources on establishing and maintaining simulation programs in Australia.

Mater Education has also sent leaders and healthcare professionals to the United States to train and collaborate at CMS in Boston. Recently, Mater Education CEO Donna Bonney and Melanie Barlow, Director of Simulation at Mater Education, spent time with CMS leadership in Boston taking part in training and planning activities as well as contributing materials and stories to the CMS Virtual Campus platform.

Mater Education has also sent Dr. Sarah Janssens and Stephanie Barwick, two of their faculty, to work as Simulation Fellows at CMS. Dr. Janssens began a six-month simulation fellowship at CMS in August 2017, while Ms. Barwick will begin her fellowship in September.

CMS thanks Robert Simon, our Senior Director for Educational Leadership & International Programs, and Kate Morse, our Assistant Director for Educational Leadership & International Programs, all of our colleagues at Mater Education, as well as all of our faculty & staff who have worked with the affiliate program, for their hard work and leadership in making this continued collaboration possible. We look forward to another five years of working together!