Glad to Meet You: Krista Anderson

“It’s so important that we learn to listen to our patients,” says Krista Anderson, who took the helm of SMU’s Health Science Simulation Center (HSSC) last fall. Through simulation learning, healthcare students can practice navigating real-world clinical situations while building confidence, compassion, and communication skills — essential components of quality healthcare, asserts Anderson, whose own mother has scarred lungs due to various communication breakdowns during her care.

Why is simulation learning so important?

Simulation-based learning replicates real patient or client experiences that address both simple and complex scenarios. Students need to experience the friction of real-world situations in ways that support their learning. In a simulation, students are being watched, which can be nerve-racking — but in reality, healthcare providers are being watched all the time by patients and their families. It’s crucial to learn coping mechanisms to build confidence and to create the space to discuss the experience. In a simulation, students can reflect on what went well, analyze complex concepts, and consider how someone else might have handled the situation. In the end, they become better practitioners.

What is the best approach to simulation learning?

Simulation-based learning is interactive and is intended to stretch the mind and application of concepts — therefore, learners can feel nervous. It is very important to create a supportive learning environment and approach the simulation with curiosity and humility. I want learners to be okay with the vulnerability of asking questions when they do not know. I want them to realize that every day is an opportunity to learn and grow.

What makes you well-suited to lead simulation learning at SMU?

I’m drawn to SMU’s forward-thinking approach to learning and our commitment to simulation learning. The HSSC operates on all four campuses, with a 40,000-square-foot simulation space on the new Oakland campus. At the new San Francisco Peninsula campus, our space has tripled in size from the previous location. I have almost 20 years’ experience in simulation doing program development and expanding interprofessional or team-based learning, all stemming from my passion for health equity. In my previous work, I built accredited interprofessional simulation programs across health science and nursing programs, and I am a recognized fellow for the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

What’s new on the horizon for the HSSC under your leadership?

I’m passionate about interprofessional learning — when students learn with, from, and about one another’s different roles and responsibilities to optimize care of patients. So my goal is to find common themes across programs so we can more frequently and intentionally unite students across disciplines — from nursing, social work, physical therapy, and so on. In collaboration with the Prelicensure Nursing Teams, we are also standardizing the simulation scenarios across the programs to ensure that we effectively integrate a social justice component, so we act on our mission of educating compassionate providers who serve diverse populations. My goal is to always teach students how to approach healthcare with cultural humility.