Mildura lecturer wins Dr Adele Callaghan Award for Healthcare Simulation
Lecturer and simulation lab coordinator, Kristy Allen, has been named the 2024 recipient of the Dr Adele Callaghan Award for Healthcare Simulation.
Awarded by the Loddon Mallee Hume Simulation Alliance, the award recognises excellence in simulation-based clinical education in Victoria’s Loddon Mallee and Hume regions.
Kristy has taught clinical skills to medical students in Mildura for over ten years. During this time, she established a dedicated space for students to practice their clinical skills, and appointment slots for one-on-one feedback, resulting in significant improvements in student competency.
“A real highlight was feedback from Associate Professor Anne Powell from the Monash Central Clinical School working at the Alfred Hospital credentialing staff and students in cannulation (a process of placing a cannula inside a vein), who shared some amazing competency levels she found in students taught through our program in particular,” reflected Kristy.
For Kristy, seeing the growing confidence of her students is both a personal and professional highlight.
“Honestly nothing beats the students coming back from their clinical placements in the hospital and sharing their stories of being involved in a patient's care. I feel extremely passionate about preparing every student with the confidence and competence they need to contribute to their patients' care in a positive way.”
The Dr Adele Callaghan Award for Healthcare Simulation is awarded annually in memory of Dr Adele Callaghan, a pioneer in healthcare simulation, who passed away in 2019. The award is funded by the National Health Education and Training in Simulation (NHET-Sim) program. Adele made substantial contributions to NHET-Sim and was instrumental in its uptake in the Loddon Mallee and Hume regions. In 2020, Adele was awarded her PhD posthumously for a thesis that explored the skills junior doctors require for recognising and managing deteriorating patients.
Kristy feels extremely grateful to receive the award, for doing a job she loves.
“Adele is remembered so fondly by us all here in Mildura and we continue to use her PhD work in the recognition and management of deteriorating patients for the development and delivery of our simulation teaching program.”
The award will provide Kristy with a NHET-Sim-sponsored place to complete a short course in simulation education, furthering her expertise in this area and benefiting future generations of Monash medical students.
“I am really looking forward to putting this award towards further study and a Masters in Clinical Simulation in the future.”