The popular SIM Wars is back. Emergency Nursing 2024 will once again host this epic tournament, challenging participants to achieve the best patient outcomes in high-pressure simulated medical scenarios.
This year a full roster of 18 teams will take part in the fast-paced, dynamic competition with their peers cheering them on. Each four-person team will put their clinical management, teamwork and communication skills to the test during the simulations. The judges will evaluate the teams on their technical skills, human factors criteria and their patient-centered approach to care.
ENA Chief Growth Officer Terrence Sykes (center) awarded the members of the Banana Bags, the 2023 SIM Wars champions, their trophy and championship belt. From left: Kayla Holman, Jessica Williams, Sykes, Cassandra Woore and Donna Andrews.
Aside from being fun, SIM Wars has a critical role to play in emphasizing the value of simulations in nurse education and training. Simulated situations offer a chance to put into play the information gleaned during classroom sessions or from textbooks, while enabling participants and observers to learn from each other. They also showcase the ways in which nurses’ quick actions make a big difference to patients.
Last year’s SIM Wars winner, with the whimsical moniker the Banana Bags, was particularly notable given that the team members did not work together at the time and did not even know each other well. Most of the members of the rival teams had worked together at some point in the past, although none had participated in SIM Wars previously.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” said team leader Kayla Holman, MSN-ED, RN, CEN, who joined Donna Andrews, MEd, APRN; Cassandra Woore, MSN, RN, CEN; and Jessica Williams, ADN, RN, CCRN, to take the championship title after responding to a simulated diabetic ketoacidosis situation. “We did not have a plan on what we were going to do. We just went in and did what we would do in any ER.”
Being ready for anything is a hallmark of a good ED, and it’s why SIM Wars competitors are deliberately not given too much information. They receive a short briefing before taking the stage, but, otherwise, they have no idea what kind of simulated emergency they’ll face. Each team is given 10 minutes to diagnose the “patient” and come up with a plan for treatment.
Given these constraints, the Banana Bags’ performance made an impression on Chris Kroboth, MS, FB-C, one of the judges of last year’s contest. He pronounced the winners “calm, cool [and] collected,” with good team dynamics and solid overall communication. He lauded the way the members spoke with each other and to the patient. “It’s not about the protocol — it’s about how you manage the situation,” said Kroboth, clinical education manager at Albany Medical Center in New York.
Besides the all-important bragging rights that come with winning SIM Wars, the No. 1 team will have its name engraved on the recently redesigned SIM Wars traveling trophy as well as the championship belt.
All SIM Wars team spots are filled. Please email conference.education@ena.org to add your team to the waitlist.
While all slots are filled, attendees can still be part of the excitement — and win prizes — with the rollout of a new contest, the SIM Wars Spectator Showdown: “Bet” on the Best. Got an opinion about who will win? Place bets here to guess first-, second- and third-place winners.
The winners of this year’s SIM Wars will be announced at the “Ignite the Future Celebration” on Sept. 6.