SimSimple in Practice – Simple Ideas come to Life in VEMS Workshops

This week, we had the chance to run two faculty development workshops at large conferences—and once again, the highlight was watching participants bring their own ideas to life through Visually Enhanced Mental Simulation (VEMS).

One of the strengths of VEMS is how quickly educators can learn the method and immediately start designing scenarios that fit their own team, service, and workflow. Each workshop begins with a short introduction to the principles of VEMS… and then the fun begins. Participants break into small groups, choose a problem from their own clinical world, and design a scenario using SimSimple materials.

This time, the range of scenarios was impressive:

• Behavioural disturbance in a radiography suite

• Sepsis deterioration on a medical ward

• Postpartum haemorrhage in an emergency department

• Manual handling and safe patient movement in a subacute unit

The diversity of cases reflects the real power of VEMS: it is simple enough to be adapted to any setting, yet structured enough to create meaningful, realistic learning. With only a handful of laminated visuals, a facilitator can replicate the cognitive, communication, and teamwork demands of nearly any clinical context.

Across both workshops, we were amazed—again—at the breadth of environments in which participants could see VEMS adding value. From high-acuity emergencies to everyday workflow challenges, participants recognised how VEMS can:

• Explore teamwork and communication

• Allow practice in simple spaces 

• Make simulation feasible

• Encourage creative problem-solving

• Build confidence in new facilitators

The best part? Watching participants deliver the cases they designed only minutes earlier—facilitating, cueing, fostering engagement. These sessions always reinforce that simulation doesn’t need to be complicated to be powerful.

We are grateful to everyone who joined us this week, shared their ideas, and pushed the boundaries of what simple simulation can achieve. We can’t wait to see how these scenarios evolve and how VEMS continues to spread across clinical and educational settings.

Simple tools for Serious Teams.

Get your SimSimple Kits here.