Simulator of the Month, December 2017: Linda Chigaru

Linda Chigaru is a CATS consultant and consultant anaesthetist who runs the Joint ICU Simulation Training (JIST) sessions at the Clinical Simulation Centre most Wednesday mornings and also the CATS Stabilisation for Transport (CATS) course three-to-four times per year.

Her first experience with clinical simulation came during her emergency anaesthesia training. Feeling extremely nervous, she quickly realised that her nerves in this safe, controlled environment were preferable to having to dive straight into practising her new skills on live patients.

Noting the advantages of being able to improve her own and her team’s practice without the real-life risks, Linda undertook training in simulation facilitation, adapting these skills to cover other clinical areas as her role as a paediatric intensivist developed.

JIST is the quintessence of Linda’s motivations to deliver simulation – it allows the high-risk field of paediatric critical care to be practised by teams who may not work together frequently in an environment where the risks are minimised, followed by the opportunity for group reflection and shared learning.