Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing

Dr. Roger Kneebone trained as a general surgeon, working both in the UK and in Southern Africa. In the 1990s he developed an innovative national training programme for minor surgery within primary care, using simulated tissue models and a computer-based learning program. In 2003, Roger left his practice to join Imperial College London.

His current research focuses on the contextualisation of clinical learning. Working with colleagues from communication and computing, Kneebone has developed innovative approaches to learning invasive clinical procedures, where models are attached to simulated patients to create a safe yet realistic learning environment. This work has initiated the development of a scenario-based Integrated Procedural Performance Instrument (IPPI) for assessing a range of clinical skills.

He is also researching the impact of stress related to surgical performance, using high fidelity operating theatre simulations to create an environment where stress can be created and managed under controlled conditions.

Kneebone leads several high-profile national programmes aimed at training healthcare professionals to undertake new roles within the UK National Health Service. He is co-director of the UK’s only Masters in Education (M Ed) in Surgical Education, which started in October 2005.

Dr. Patricia E. Benner received her Bachelor's degree in Nursing from Pasadena College; a Master's degree in Medical Surgical Nursing from the University of California, San Francisco; and, a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. She studied the topic of Stress, Coping and Health under the direction of Hubert Dreyfus and Richard Lazarus.

Benner is an internationally noted researcher and lecturer on health, stress and coping, skill acquisition, and ethics. Her career has influenced the nursing profession on a global scale. 

At the HPE 2009 Conference Benner will present her views related to the concepts of simulation-augmented education and training with recommendations to focus simulation as a powerful tool for experiential learning. She will provide the attendants with “Benner’s do's and don'ts” related to simulation for realistic experiential learning.

Benner will also promote her newest book Educating Nurses: Teaching and Learning a Complex Practice of Care , co-published by the Jossey-Bass and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Brian David Hodges, MD, PhD, FRCPC Director, University of Toronto Wilson Donald R. Wilson Centre for Research in Education at the University Health Network

Dr. Brian D. Hodges graduated from Queen’s University Medical School in 1989 and completed his Psychiatry Residency training at the University of Toronto, earning certification from both the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Hodges became the Director of the University of Toronto's Donald R. Wilson Centre for Research in Education, one of the largest centres for health professions education research in the world. In his role as director he consults for the Medical Council of Canada, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and the Institute for International Medical Education. He chairs the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Evaluation Committee which oversees the examinations and in-training evaluation of residents in all 62 Royal College specialty programs in Canada.

His current areas of research and publication include performance-based assessment, self-assessment of competence, and the sociology of the health professions.

Dr. Vicki R. LeBlanc, PhD, is the Director of the Network of Excellence in Simulation for Clinical Teaching and Learning. In addition, she is a Scientist II at the Wilson Centre for Research in Education, as well as Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medicine and the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.

She obtained a PhD in cognitive psychology from McMaster University in 2001. She has conducted numerous studies looking at the effects of acute stressors on the performance of physicians, paramedics, critical care teams, police recruits and child welfare workers. This program of enquiry has lead to the use of multiple modalities of simulation to manipulate and measure the effects of clinically related stressors. She has also engaged in research assessing the effectiveness of simulation-based modalities for the training and assessment of health professionals.

For her research, she has received several awards from the American Association of Medical Colleges: Research in Medical Education and from the Association for Medical Education in Europe.

•  On-line registration is now open.
• To view the HPE 2009 Conference agenda click here.
• Visit the Journal of Health Professions Education for all HPE 2009 Conference abstracts.
• For added interest visit the Bethune Round Table 2009 "Clinical Care in Context" (PDF) for additional lectures and workshops hosted by the Office of International Surgery at the University of Toronto, and the Canadian Network for International Surgery.
• Join the HPE 2009 Conference Facebook group - post items and join discussions!