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On May 5, 2026, Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) welcomed healthcare educators from across the Greater Toronto Area for the second Simulation Faculty Development Workshop, a collaborative initiative designed to strengthen simulation-based education and support safer patient care.
Hosted by MGH, the workshop was developed through a collaboration with North York General Hospital, Mackenzie Health and Lakeridge Health. Together, the organizations have created a shared learning opportunity that helps develop the skills and confidence needed to design, facilitate and evaluate simulation experience using evidence-based practices.
Simulation has become an increasingly important tool in healthcare education, providing clinicians with opportunities to practice skills, strengthen teamwork and prepare for complex clinical situations in a safe learning environment before applying those skills in patient care settings.
“As simulation has become one of the standards for training and maintaining clinician competencies, there is a growing need to build capacity among educators who facilitate these learning experiences,” says Ahmed Ullah Sayed, Manager of the Rands Family Simulation Centre at MGH.
For many community hospitals, sending educators to formal simulation certification programs can be costly and challenging. The workshop was created to help address the gap by providing accessible, high-quality faculty development opportunities closer to home.
Recognizing this need, simulation leaders from the four hospitals partnered to create an accessible faculty development program that helps build simulation expertise across community hospitals.
The workshop welcomed interprofessional educators from a variety of healthcare disciplines, including nursing, medicine, respiratory therapy and physiotherapy. To date, the initiative has helped train approximately 90 educators since the program first launched.
Throughout the workshop, participants explored the foundations of simulation-based education, including simulation design, pre-briefing, debriefing, selecting the appropriate level of simulation fidelity and integrating simulation with research and quality improvement initiatives.
Participants learned how to develop and deliver simulation experiences that align with best practices, from planning and implementation through to evaluation and reflection.
The workshop also highlighted the growing role of simulation beyond traditional education.
“Simulation can help identify gaps in clinical processes, uncover latent safety threats, challenge assumptions and improve communication,” says Ahmed. “These insights can help organizations strengthen safety before changes are introduced into clinical environments.”
For example, simulation can be used to test new workflows, clinical spaces or procedures before implementation, helping teams identify potential risks and make improvements before patients are affected.
Simulation-based education provides healthcare professionals with opportunities to develop and maintain clinical competencies in realistic and controlled environments.
Ahmed shared that simulations helps consolidate knowledge into safe practice while strengthening crisis resource management skills and team performance. It also helps promote psychological safety by allowing healthcare workers to learn, practice and refine their skills in environments where mistakes become opportunities for learning rather than risks to patients.
By strengthening educators’ ability to facilitate high-quality simulation experiences, the workshop helps create a ripple effect that ultimately benefits learners, clinical teams and patients.
Participants left with new tools and approaches that can be applied within their own organizations to support ongoing staff education, competency development and patient safety initiatives.
There are plans to continue offering the Simulation Faculty Development Workshop on a regular basis, ensuring educators across the region have continued access to high-quality faculty development opportunities.
The initiative also reflects a broader commitment to embedding simulation as a core educational and quality improvement strategy within healthcare organizations.
With ongoing support from leadership teams across the participating hospitals, simulation continues to play an important role in developing and maintaining staff competencies, strengthening psychological safety and helping clinical teams deliver safer, high-quality care.
As the program grows, organizers hope to continue building educator capacity across the region while fostering a strong community of practice dedicated to advancing simulation-based learning and patient safety.
To view photos from the workshop, please see the photo gallery below.
