Thoughts About Upcoming Courses in the MSMS Program by faculty member Suzie Kardong-Edgren

I cannot tell you how hard I have prepared for the theory lectures for the MS.701S for this fall 2014. I know there is a split between medicine and social sciences that happened way back in the 1700-1800s , having to do with theory…I know this because I found a fabulous book about this in the airport bookstore one day  (I only shop in the most discriminating of places).

Hopefully everyone in the course may have had some exposure to theory and why it is important…but maybe not. I WANT everyone to understand the point and why theory is important. When we conduct a study, we are not hopefully doing it up without some background, observation, previous study, etc. Deciding to do something out of the blue with no rationale is not usually fundable (not the only reason to do research, but often a driving force in research) …”the progress of any discipline is measured by the scope and quality of its theories and the extent to which its community of scholars is engaged in theory development” (Meleis, p. 188).  We should ask ourselves, what are the central questions in the field of simulation? What is it we still don’t know that would make our scenarios more memorable, have bigger impact, allow participants to carry what they have learned into the field…provide better patient care, work better as a team…if you want to study ahead  and get ready for fall and the first practicum course, I suggest reading some of the articles in the monograph published by Simulation in Healthcare 6(6) supplement in 2011. When people call me and ask what needs to be studied, I refer them to this journal and the articles therein. Some of these articles refer to theories commonly used in medical simulation…bravo!  Hopefully you will know some before you get to this class. You will be joining a community of scholars in simulation, no matter what your intended job in simulation will be. So, be ready to come with open minds and think about those questions you have wondered about when you see or participate in simulation. The field is new…there are many open questions. However, theory will link the questions we ask into a coherent whole to move the discipline forward.

See you soon!

Suzie Kardong-Edgren

To find out more about the MSMS program check out our website atdrexelmed.edu/mssim and follow us on twitter @mssimdrexel