Who We Are

Professor of Simulation Education, NUI Galway

Director of Simulation for the Saolta Group and ICAPSS

Dara leads the development, and implementation, of simulation activities for education and training within the undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula. Dara’s work showcases the potential for simulation to support quality improvement, protocol and process development, medical device testing, healthcare innovation, and high quality research. Dara holds an advanced certification for healthcare simulation education from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH). She is Co-director of the Diploma and Masters in Healthcare Simulation and Patient Safety.

Twitter @DrDaraByrne

Senior Lecturer in Primary Care

Research Director of the ICAPSS

Paul is a Senior Lecturer in Primary Care and a Human Factors Psychologist. He started as a Lecturer in Primary Care in 2013 after coming to the National University of Ireland, Galway as a Senior Research Methodologist in 2010. Paul is the Research Director of the Irish Centre for Applied Patient Safety and Simulation (ICAPSS), and Co-director of the Diploma and Masters in Healthcare Simulation and Patient Safety. Paul is currently the Chair of the Irish Association for Simulation.

Profile

Twitter @poc_doctor

Lecturer in Quality, Patient Safety and Simulation

Sinéad is a Lecturer in Quality, Patient Safety and Simulation and a Behavioural Psychologist. In 2019, Sinéad became the first Irish Certified Professional in Patient Safety. Sinéad leads the development of content relating to patient safety and quality of care for the School of Medicine’s undergraduate programmes and also teaches across the School’s postgraduate programmes. Sinéad currently serves as the Vice-dean for Equality, Diversity and Wellbeing for the College of Medicine, Nursing and the Health Sciences at NUI Galway.

Profile

Twitter @sinead_lydon

Lecturer in Intern Education

Orla is a Lecturer in Intern Education with a clinical background in General Practice. Orla is currently responsible for training interns in the West NorthWest Intern Network and is a member of the National Intern Curriculum Working Group. With a Postgraduate Diploma in Quality Improvement and Leadership, she delivers QI training for interns. Orla is a founding member of an Interprofessional Group in Galway University Hospital and a member of the National Health Fusion Committee. She creates interprofessional learning opportunities at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Simulation Coordinator

In her current role, Caroline assists with the development and implementation of trainee education initiatives and accreditation requirements. Caroline has substantial experience in leading and supporting the development of programmes of work in quality, safety and risk management,including clinical effectiveness, quality improvement, audit management, complaints and service improvement. Caroline worked previously as a Quality & Patient Safety Facilitator in Galway University Hospital. She currently serves as a QI facilitator in the Saolta Healthcare group, educating, empowering and enabling staff at all levels to undertake quality improvement.

Technical Officer in AV / Simulation

Connor joined the ICAPSS team in May 2021 as a Technical Officer in AV/Simulation. His role is to ensure all Audio and Visual features of each simulation run smoothly, enhancing the participant experience. He comes from an Engineering background, with 6 years' experience in various Manufacturing plants across the West of Ireland. He is qualified in Electronic & Electrical Engineering and Software Development.

Medical Scientist

Ruth is a former Chief Medical Scientist with experience in both Adult and Paediatric Clinical Science and Laboratory Medicine. 

Simulation Clinical Nurse Educator (Part-time)

Bridie’s background has been mainly in the acute hospital setting. Bridie spent several years at management level before moving to simulation-based learning programmes and supporting the development of skills and health professional knowledge. Her role as Simulation Clinical Nurse Educator involves the setting up of simulation scenarios, equipment, and participation in running the simulation events to provide the best possible outcomes for students.

Simulation Clinical Nurse Educator (Part-Time)

Mary serves as a Simulation Clinical Nurse Educator within ICAPSS alongside working as a Clinical Facilitator/Practice Development in Haematology/Oncology at Galway University Hospital. Mary has been involved in intern training for many years, including in the delivery of simulation training activities.

Simulation Clinical Nurse Educator

Philip joined ICAPSS as the Simulation Clinical Nurse Educator, CNM III, in 2021. His career accounts for 17 years of clinical nursing with significant speciality and leadership experience. Philip holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing (ICU) and has completed the LEAP Management Development Programme among other advanced certified clinical skills.

Technical Officer in Clinical Skills and Simulation

Ambyr is a Simulation Technician. In her current role, she is involved with the delivery of simulation-based education for undergraduate and postgraduate students. She has completed a Diploma in Healthcare Simulation and Patient Safety. Ambyr has previously completed an Advanced Certificate in Agriculture and is an ITEC qualified makeup artist. 

Senior Technical Officer in Simulation

Bronwyn joined the ICAPSS team in 2014. She currently works as Senior Technical Officer in Simulation for the School of Medicine at NUI Galway. She is a member of the Irish Association for Simulation steering committee, the IMSH visioning task force and is the national technical champion for the Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare (ASPiH). Bronwyn completed her Master of Science in Healthcare Simulation and Patient Safety in 2018. She has experience with moulage and simulator creation and has won innovation awards from Blackstone, Spark and ASPiH for creating bespoke simulators for use in simulation-based research and education.

Twitter @BronReid_

Technical Officer in Clinical Skills and Simulation

Mike Smith joined the School of Medicine in 2014 as Clinical Skills and Simulation Technician. Previously he enjoyed a very successful career as a paramedic with the National Ambulance Service. He has completed the postgraduate certificate in Healthcare Simulation and Patient Safety at NUI Galway. He is heavily involved at all levels in undergraduate clinical skills and simulation teaching. His special interests include basic life support, communication skills, and community outreach. One of his education innovations was a special study module (SSM) in pre-hospital emergency care which he led for many years.