Welcome to this episode of Nursing EDge Unscripted Saga where we journey through the history of nursing education using stories that connect the past to the present and then our future as we reimagine our teaching and learning. This special episode of Saga is dedicated to a leader in the use of simulation in nursing education in recognition of Healthcare Simulation Week celebrated in the month of September.
This episode is a first person account in the words of Dr. Mary Anne Rizzolo as she pays tribute to Debra Spunt, a pioneer and leader in simulation. Let me share Dr. Rizzolo's words. When was the first time you saw students engaged in simulation? When did your school or institution get its first mannekin? Whenever that was, Debbie
Spunt had done it years earlier. She recognized the power of simulation for educating healthcare professionals and in 1998 she became the Director of the 28 clinical sim labs at the University of Maryland's School of Nursing in Baltimore. Then she really went to work, co-authoring the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning, INACSL as we call it today, and becoming its first president. Her lab served as national and international
models for student learning. Her expertise for integrating the use of clinical simulation within the educational curriculum garnered worldwide recognition. She toured numerous faculty and international visitors through the labs and provided formal and informal consultations to schools of nursing and healthcare agencies in more than 38 states and 12 countries including South Korea, Israel, and Canada.
The University of Maryland School of Nursing was twice named a Center of Excellence in Simulation Education by Laerdal Medical, an international manufacturer of interactive computer and patient simulators for educating
healthcare professionals. I had met Debbie several times at learning resource center conferences and other events, but I didn't really get to know her until Dr. Pam Jefferies and I worked with her on the landmark National League for Nursing Laerdal simulation study, Designing and Implementing Models for the Innovative Use of Simulation to
A National, Multi-Site, Multi-Method Study, in 2003. Until then, only anecdotal evidence was being reported about the advantages of simulation but it needed to be backed up with well-designed and executed research. Debbie was one of the first people selected to participate in the study and was clearly the most experienced. Seven other faculty members from schools across the country were selected. Debbie never flaunted her expertise but provided leadership in her own
quiet way. The group of eight strangers developed quickly into a close-knit family with Debbie as the big sister. She was a very private person and rarely talked about herself but she loved to talk about her daughter Ellen. In 2006, as the study was in its final phases, we decided to use the NLN's technology conference to disseminate the outcomes of the study and to hold that conference at the University of Maryland.
Debbie was thrilled that we were using her school where she earned her baccalaureate and master's degrees and where she was coming close to completing her DNP program. She welcomed all the attendees and was in perpetual motion during the event speaking from the podium and providing tours of her labs. A few short months later, Debbie learned that her cancer had returned and further treatment was
futile. When Tore Laerdal, Chairman and CEO of Laerdal Medical became aware that Debbie was terminally ill, he contacted the NLN to establish a way to honor all that Debbie had done for simulation and nursing. I visited Debbie just a few days before she died to tell her that a lecture was being established in her name. She
was all dressed up in her cap and gown. She was so proud of that doctorate and thrilled and honored that her contributions would be recognized every year at the NLN summit with a lecture provided by others who have had a lasting impact on the evolution of the art and science of simulation.
Following Dr. Spunt's death at the age of 50 in March of 2007 the school named the labs in her memory and established the Deborah L. Spunt Clinical Simulation Practice and Research Endowment, which allows the University of Maryland School of Nursing to remain on the cutting edge of simulation education. Everyone who knew Debbie has very special memories of her and her impact on their life and work in simulation. Mine is seeing her add her induction into the Academy
of Nursing. She was so proud to have her daughter Ellen with her on such a special day. My other special memory is bittersweet - seeing her face light up when I told her about the endowed lecture funded by Laerdal that would carry her name. When I asked Debbie to select the first person to deliver the Spunt Lecture she quickly replied, "Pam of course!" Then from her bed she pointed to a small framed picture of her and Pam in full finery taken at the Academy induction ceremony.
She told me to give the picture to Pam after she delivered the first Spunt lecture. Six months later I did so from the podium of the NLN Summit fighting back tears. While there is no question that Debbie's pioneering efforts and leadership brought simulation to the forefront, I think it was her warm personality and giving spirit that was equally important. She was one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever known.
She was quiet and unassuming and always willing to share whatever she learned with others. All you had to do was ask or let her know you were struggling. Debbie recognized the benefits of simulation early on and the art and science advanced more quickly because Debbie was there freely sharing her knowledge during the earliest days of simulations use in
nursing education cheering everyone on. Every new innovation especially in education needs someone like Dr. Spunt so that the diffusion of innovation cycle accelerates newly found knowledge about the best ways to educate our students and find its way to the educator toolbox quickly with an outcome of better educated students and better patient care. Thank you for all you did to lead and inspire us, Dr. Debra Spunt. You touched our minds and our hearts and we miss you still.
And thank you Dr. Mary Anne Rizzolo for your wonderful accounting of Debra L. Spunt. And so the saga continues. And may our saga continue as we bring to a close this episode of Nursing EDge Unscripted Saga. Thank you for joining us