Mara Kenger, MD is a resident in Anesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. She spent the month of February at the Center for Medical Simulation on an elective rotation. The goal of the rotation program is to expose residents to the potential and operational use of simulation for education, clinical training and research. Over the course of the month, residents develop simulation scenarios including patient records, plot, setup, debriefing notes, and references.

“I was very fortunate to have the month of February as an elective month at the Center for Medical Simulation (CMS). I signed up for this elective because I had always thought my experiences at CMS as a participant were fun, and I figured it would be a nice way to get more exposure to that. But it ended up being so much more than I could have even anticipated. Simulation is so much more than practicing codes; it’s all about how we learn, how we teach, how we give and receive feedback, and how we learn to work effectively in teams. These are skills that everyone could use and improve on, but especially those of us working in anesthesia. I was so impressed and touched by how the staff at CMS really live what they teach: they work thoughtfully and effectively as a team, they are so open to new ideas and conversations, and they welcomed me with open arms. Soon, I was involved in a project looking at designing a new simulation course, and that is a project I plan to continue through my fellowship, working with CMS along the way. It was an awesome month and I am so grateful for the time I had there.”