FREE FOR MEMBERS!

Description: MLT shortages are here and the pressure is on to train more MLTs than ever before. Addressing the pinch points for continuing to provide MLS students with robust and quality Clinical Training paths involves complex strategies and collaboration—and Virtual Simulations are an integral part of this. 

Sean Doyle will present an overview of the Affinity platform, with a demonstration of authoring tools & workflows, as well as, a walkthrough of Affinity's Community Library, and its collection of freely-usable Medical Laboratory simulations.

Valentin (Tino) Villatoro will review the Affinity Learning platform’s many features that enable the development of creative and engaging virtual simulations that take learners down multiple paths based on their observations and decision-making skills. In this session, we will demonstrate and highlight the key features of the platform that enable educators to transform existing simulation content into an engaging virtual simulation.

Tammy Hardie, the MLS Simulation Coordinator at BCIT, will share some of her experiences in facing this challenge head-on with creativity and resourcefulness.  She will provide guidance in accessing open-sourced resources available on the Affinity Community Library, and demonstrate how the tools available on Affinity will help you create Virtual Simulation activities that can support student learning in a unique and dynamic way. You will gain the knowledge you need to build your very own Virtual Simulations.

Date: January 10, 2024

Time: 12pm – 1pm (ET)

At the end of this session you will be able to:

• Access the Community Library on Affinity
• Explore the variety of Virtual Simulation Activity Tools using Affinity
• Build a basic virtual simulation including pre-brief and de-brief
• Describe various features of the Affinity Learning platform that enable the development of engaging virtual simulations.

Speakers: 

Christine Nielson, CEO of CSMLS, MLT, PLA

Sean Doyle, CEO @ Affinity Learning

Valentin (Tino) Villatoro, MEd, BSc (MLS), MLT

Tammy Hardie BA MLT/RT CAE

Christine Nielsen became CEO of the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science in 2010.  Prior, she was Director of Certification for seven years, with a brief stint as Deputy Registrar for the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario. Originally trained as an MLT, she completed education in health administration, not for profit management, association management, prior learning assessment and business. She is also a PLA Assessor with the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE). She has served the Michener Institute’s Alumni Association for over two decades and is a Board member with the Oakville & Milton Humane Society. 

Tino Villatoro has taught various medical laboratory science courses at the post-secondary level, supervised research projects, participated in accreditation activities, coordinated clinical placements, and developed virtual simulations as part of the Virtu-WIL project. In his current role, Tino is a Curriculum and Instruction Specialist in the School of Health and Life Sciences at NAIT, supporting the design and delivery of high-quality curriculum and learning experiences. He sits on the CSMLS Board of Directors as the Director for Alberta, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. You can still find him working in the hospital as a casual Medical Laboratory Technologist.

Sean Doyle is a Toronto-based software developer and designer. As co-founder & CEO of Affinity Learning, Sean’s objective is to empower educators to transform their practical knowledge into engaging and meaningful online learning experiences.

Tammy Hardie BA, MLT/RT, CAE is currently the Simulation Coordinator for the Medical Laboratory Sciences Program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. She is a graduate of the Health Sciences Center/Red River College program in Winnipeg, Manitoba and received certification from the Canadian Society of Medical Laboratory Sciences (CSMLS) in 1989. Since then she has worked as a Medical Laboratory Technologist in a variety of disciplines including Hematology, Chemistry, Microbiology and Transfusion Medicine. Her experience spans the gamut; small community centers, remote northern regional centres, major urban hospitals, and provincial reference laboratories. She made the leap from Clinical MLT work to MLS education in 2004 when she accepted a teaching position at Red River College in Winnipeg. She worked in a variety of capacities during her eight-year tenure there including: primary instructor in Hematology, General Lab Practices, and Phlebotomy and Assistant Instructor in Histology and Transfusion Medicine. She also taught Microbiology in the Life Sciences Program and Canadian Literature in the Library Information Technology program—yes! You guessed it she is a Gemini 😉. Ms Hardie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (*with Distinction) in Canadian Literature and Native Studies from the University of Manitoba in 2005. In 2010 she completed her Certificate in Adult Education from Red River College. Over the course of her career she has been an active volunteer with both the Manitoba Association of Medical Lab Sciences (Treasurer), the CSMLS, and the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Manitoba (Investigations Officer) and in 2009 she became an active member of the non-profit organization the Flying Doctors of Canada, was promoted to Chief Diagnostics Officer in 2011 and in 2012 accepted a Director position on the Board. Tammy left the prairies in 2012 to accept a teaching position at BCIT, where she has taught Hematology, Hematopathology, and Hemostasis for the past 10 years. In June of 2022 she was selected by her peers to fill the Secondment for MLS Simulation Coordinator. She was part of the Virtu-WIL project with CiCAN authoring a Simulation activity in Chain of Custody and co-authoring a Simulation activity in Antibody Investigation using the platform Affinity. She is currently leading the Virtu-WIL project on Simulation delivery at BCIT. She maintains practice and relevancy by working locums in the Core Lab at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital whenever she can. She currently sits on the International Mobility Fund Committee at BCIT and the BC Federation of Unions Standing Committee for Human Rights. She has a passion for lab work, education, humanitarian efforts in the developing world and Simulation! BCIT provides an excellent environment for her to embrace all of these and more!

PEP hours: 1.0

CPS credits: 0

*Note: PEP hours and/or CPS credits will only be awarded upon successful completion of the quiz.