Melanie Barlow: Collaboration and the Advancement of Sim

Blog - Melanie Barlow: Collaboration and the Advancement of Sim

“It has been a whirlwind five and a half months and an experience that both I and my family will never forget. Spending time in Boston and at the Center for Medical Simulation (CMS) has provided so many wonderful opportunities, adventures, and experiences. 

The fellowship at CMS allowed me to have many conversations with experts in the field. The CMS staff were extremely generous with their time, sharing their thinking and helping to advance my expertise. They’re also are great at connecting people of like mind and interests across the globe for the purposes of collaboration and the advancement of simulation. 

During my fellowship, I have been welcomed, challenged, invigorated and inspired and the lessons learned will change my practice. 

My family, as a result of my fellowship at CMS, have experienced school life in America, making firm friendships and seeing different perspectives and ways of living. Although the promise of snow didn’t eventuate, we won’t hold that against Boston! There is so much to do and see. We lost our voices at many of the sporting events, saw the changing colours of the leaves in Vermont and experienced the sights and sounds of New York and Washington DC. 

Although Australia is many miles away from Boston, the sense of community built with the other international fellows and CMS staff makes the distance considerably smaller and no doubt I have made friends for life.”

Melanie Barlow, RN, MSN, PhD (C) is the Head of Research, Evaluation, and Communications at Mater Education in Brisbane, Australia and an Adjunct Faculty Member at the Center for Medical Simulation (CMS). Mater Education is a CMS Affiliate Location.

Listen to Melanie’s guest appearance on DJ Simulationistas: