
The SIM Expo is Canada’s interprofessional, cross-sector simulation conference! Our focus is healthcare, but the principles of simulation are applicable across all sectors.
It felt so good to be back together in 2022, so we are excited about 2023!
Mark your calendars for December 11 & 12, 2023, in Ottawa, Ontario.
Add to your calendar: Outlook/Apple • Google
Theme: The Rise of Simulation
Marking the 10th anniversary of SIM Expo, we look back at our progress and ahead to the importance of simulation to build a sustainable, equitable healthcare ecosystem.
Latest Updates
Keynote Presentations:
Day 1: Harnessing the Power and Potential of Simulation to Help Address Healthcare and Healthcare Education Crises
Day 2: Simulating for What Future? Perspectives from Patients, Technology, and the Healthcare System: A Panel Discussion Keynote Details >
SIM Awards:
The 2023 SIM Awards nominations are now closed! We thank all those who submitted. Shortlists will be announced mid-October. Awards Details >


Theme
The Rise of Simulation
It is the 10th anniversary of the SIM Expo, so a perfect time to reflect on our community’s journey to this point and to envision simulation’s future!
Looking back, we celebrate how simulation has grown from a niche area in education to a well-established field with a solid evidence base, best practice guidelines, and a community of professionals. From the first simulators that arrived at our labs, simulation is now an indispensable tool in education and quality improvement.
Looking forward, we see how simulation will become even more critical to our workforce development, in healthcare and beyond, to help address workforce shortages. We see its power to help build an equitable, sustainable healthcare ecosystem, with providers skilled in trauma-informed, patient-centred care. And we see how pedagogy and technologies continue to evolve to make simulation more effective and accessible.
Agenda
For a detailed schedule and look at the abstract presentations, please follow to our Fourwaves abstract page HERE.
Monday December 11 • Day 1
8:00am-8:30am | Continental Breakfast & Day 1 Check-in | Open Exhibit Hall |
8:30am–9:00am | Welcome & Day 1 Orientation |
9:00am–10:00am | Keynote: Harnessing the Power and Potential of Simulation to Help Address Healthcare and Healthcare Education Crises • Jason Harley, PhD |
10:00am–11:30am | Morning Workshops |
11:30am–12:00pm | Exhibit Hall — Explore the 2023 SIM Expo! | Networking |
12:00pm–1:00pm | Lunch | SIM Awards |
1:00pm–2:00pm | Pop-up Poster Crawl |
2:00pm–3:00pm | Exhibit Hall — Explore the 2023 SIM Expo! | Break | Networking |
3:00pm–4:30pm | Afternoon Workshops |
4:30pm–5:00pm | 2023 SIM Expo Day 1 Reflections |
Tuesday December 12 • Day 2
8:00am-8:30am | Breakfast & Day 2 Check-in | Open Exhibit Hall |
8:30am–8:45am | Welcome & Day 2 Orientation |
8:45am–10:00am | Keynote Panel: Simulating for What Future? Perspectives from Patients, Technology, and the Healthcare System • Ivy Bourgeault, Ahmed Muslimani & Roger Simard • Facilitated by Jerry Maniate |
10:00am–10:45am | Exhibit Hall — Explore the 2023 SIM Expo! | Break | Networking |
10:45am–12:00pm | Research Presentations |
12:00pm–1:00pm | Lunch | SIM Awards |
1:00pm–2:30pm | Demonstration Showcase |
2:30pm–4:00pm | Afternoon Workshops |
4:00pm–4:30pm | Exhibit Hall — Explore the 2023 SIM Expo! | Break | Networking |
4:30pm–5:00pm | 2023 SIM Expo Day 2 Reflections | Industry Draws |
Registration
Please be advised that we require registration in advance of the conference, as on-site registration is very limited. This is to ensure efficient check-in at the event.
Regular | Individual members save 20% | Organizational members save 25% | |
---|---|---|---|
Full 2-Day (Dec 11 & 12) | $800 | $640 save $160 |
$600 save $200 |
1-Day (Dec 11 or 12) | $480 | $384 | $360 |
2-Day – Resident/Post-Grad* | $425 | $340 | $318.75 |
2-Day – Student** | $300 | $240 | $225 |
** Must be a full-time student in a university undergraduate or a college level program. Proof of enrolment is required upon check-in at the event. Tickets are limited.
Sales taxes will be added to all registration fees.
Members: Please contact us via [email protected] for the registration discount code.
On-Site Registration (limited) – fees noted below are only applicable when registering on-site, the day of the event.
Regular | Individual members save 20% | Organizational members save 25% | |
---|---|---|---|
Day-of registration at Expo 2-Day (Dec 11 & 12) | $1000 | $800 | $750 |
Day-of registration at Expo 1-Day (Dec 11 or 12) | $600 | $480 | $450 |
Sales taxes will be added to all registration fees.
Keynote Speakers
Day 1
Harnessing the Power and Potential of Simulation to Help Address Healthcare and Healthcare Education Crises

Jason Harley, PhD (they/them)
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery
Director, Simulation, Affect, Innovation, Learning, and Surgery (SAILS) Lab
Director of Research, Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning
McGill University | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Presentation Details
Prof. Harley will provide an overview of existing strengths and areas for further improvement in healthcare simulation education research. They will describe ongoing research they and their research lab and collaborators are conducting at McGill to help illustrate both challenges and opportunities to tackle crises in healthcare and healthcare education. Research examples will include Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded studies with virtual simulation technologies and anti-harassment simulation training. The talk will conclude with future directions for simulation education research, including common research priorities amongst Canadian simulation centres from a national survey Prof. Harley and their team recently published.
Attendees will be able to:
- Understand how simulation can be used to help combat contemporary crises as well as criteria for it to fulfill this potential
- Identify strengths and weakness of healthcare simulation education research
- Describe opportunities and approaches to advance healthcare simulation education research
Professor Jason M. Harley, PhD, is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill University and a Scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). They are also the Director of Research at the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning, Director of the Simulation, Affect, Innovation, Learning, and Surgery (SAILS) Lab, and an Associate Member of the Institute for Health Sciences Education (IHSE).
Prof. Harley completed their FRQSC and SSHRC CGS-funded Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at McGill University in 2014. They held an FRQSC-funded postdoctoral position in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Montréal from 2014-2015 before joining the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta as an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology and Technology (tenure-track) from 2016-2019.
In 2018, they won the Outstanding Early Career Researcher Award sponsored by the Technology, Instruction, Cognition, and Learning (TICL) SIG of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).
The overarching goal of Prof. Harley’s research program is to support the current and future well-being and clinical performance of healthcare trainees through innovative educational interventions, leveraging interactive simulations and emerging technologies. Their research has attracted over 1 million dollars of funding (as PI) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, The Killam Foundation, Mitacs, the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity, and others Their research has led to dozens of broadcast and print interviews in venues such as The Guardian, CBC News, The Globe and Mail, Global News, CTV News and the Montreal Gazette.
Day 2
Simulating for What Future? Perspectives from Patients, Technology, and the Healthcare System: A Panel Discussion
System
Perspective

Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, PhD FCAHS (she/her)
University of Ottawa;
Canadian Health Workforce Network
Patient
Perspective

Ahmed Muslimani (they/them)
MAX Ottawa
Technology
Perspective

Roger Simard (he/his)
cts Montréal;
WHO Committee on Digital Health
Panel Facilitator

Jerry M. Maniate, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, CCPE, CPC(HC), EMBA(C) (he/his)
University of Ottawa;
Equity in Health Systems (EqHS) Lab
Panel Details
Simulationists are innovative educators, charged with preparing today’s students with the skills they will need for tomorrow’s healthcare milieu. Change seems to be accelerating in recent years, particularly driven by the stress the pandemic placed on our healthcare system and providers.
In this panel, we explore three unique drivers of change: First, the patient perspective, with increasing expectations of safe, effective, inclusive, and trauma-informed care. Second, emerging technologies that are poised to disrupt many long-established work processes. And, third, the need for healthcare system reform to ensure its accessibility and sustainability.
SIM Expo registrants will be invited to submit questions for this panel ahead of time, to help guide the discussion.
Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, PhD FCAHS (she/her/elle)
Dr. Bourgeault is a Professor in the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies at the University of Ottawa and the University Research Chair in Gender, Diversity and the Professions. She leads the Canadian Health Workforce Network, the Empowering Women Leaders in Health initiative and co-leads the Team Primary Care: Training for Transformation project. Dr. Bourgeault has garnered an international reputation for her research on the health workforce, particularly from a gender lens.
Ahmed Muslimani (they/them)
Manager of Partnerships and Development, MAX Ottawa
Ahmed began their career in community work nearly 12 years ago after arriving in Canada as a refugee claimant. Their work focused largely on newcomers and queer communities, anti-oppression, and sexual health education. Since joining the MAX Ottawa team 3 years ago, they have become very invested in addressing the vast disparities that 2SLGBTQ+ communities face in accessing holistic healthcare.
Roger Simard (he/him)
Pharmacien de formation, Roger Simard a bifurqué vers le domaine des affaires très tôt dans sa carrière. Il a été représentant pharmaceutique puis directeur des ventes pour Genentech, une firme de biotechnologie californienne. À la naissance de l’Internet, il a démarré Conceptis Technologies, une entreprise spécialisée dans les technologies de l’information, appliquées au monde médical. Cette entreprise a été la première entreprise canadienne à remporter un Milia pour son logiciel de formation médicale en ligne.
En 1999, Conceptis lançait ce qui allait devenir le plus grand portail d’information et d’éducation en cardiologie, theheart.org. Avec Eric Topol, auteur (The Creative Destruction of Medicine, The Patient Will See You Now, Deep Medicine), généticien et cardiologue, il a co-dirigé une équipe de douze rédacteurs médicaux. Après avoir vendu son entreprise à WebMD en 2005, Roger Simard est retourné à la pratique de la pharmacie et a fondé Pharmacie 3.0 en 2014 afin d’optimiser le suivi des pathologies chroniques à l’aide des technologies de santé connectée, la démarche de soins pharmaceutiques et la pharmacogénomique. Membre du comité d’experts en santé numérique de l’OMS, Roger est un conférencier recherché au niveau local et international.
Aujourd’hui, Roger est administrateur de sociétés, agit en tant qu’expert-conseil en santé numérique auprès de différentes organisations, et il est coach auprès d’entrepreneurs en healthtech. On peut suivre ses deux passions, la photographie et la voile, sur son blogue.
Jerry Maniate, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, CCPE, CPC(HC), EMBA(C) (he/his/him)
Dr. Jerry Maniate and his family, including 2 young girls, have resided in Ottawa, which is the unceded and traditional lands of the Algonquin people. He is a clinician-educator at The Ottawa Hospital, an Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, a researcher at the Bruyère Research Institute, and has served as a senior leader in several health and educational organizations and committees. In September 2021, Dr. Maniate founded the Equity in Health Systems Lab (www.eqhslab.com), an international transdisciplinary team of researchers, health care professionals, educators, policymakers, learners, and patients who are seeking to make an impact on our community and health system with the work they are engaged with through a unique approach. His academic work and that of the EqHS Lab has been focused on understanding and addressing inequities, racism, and injustice in our health systems through collaborative partnerships using a scholarly lens.
Call for Abstracts
The call for abstracts is now closed.
Key Dates
- Call for abstracts: March 1st, 2023
- Abstracts due: Monday, May 8th, 5pm EST
- Notification of Acceptance: week of June 5th
- RSVP & Registration of Presenters: Friday July 7th
- Preparing your presentation: Emails to lead submitters have been sent Sept 13, please contact us if you have not yet received your presenter guide.
NOTE: Presenters of all accepted abstracts must register for the SIM Expo. A 10% discount will be offered to presenters – any organizational or SIMadvocate member can contact us directly for greater discounts.
Exhibitors & Sponsors
We have always considered the simulation and healthcare education industries to be an important part of the simulation community in Canada. This comes to life at the SIM Expo, which is a wonderful hybrid of academic conference, industry exhibition, and networking event.
SIM Expo is different than other sim conferences in how we integrate industry – both physically (with booths in the plenary space and immediately outside) and into the program (exhibitors can submit abstracts for certain types of presentations).
Become an Exhibitor or Sponsor!
Travel & Accommodation
This year’s Expo is kindly being hosted by Ottawa’s enthusiastic simulation community.
The 2023 SIM Expo will be at the Delta Hotel Ottawa City Centre. The hotel is right downtown, a few blocks from parliament hill, the Rideau Canal, and the Rideau Shopping Centre.

Accommodations
We have secured a special group rate at the Delta Hotel Ottawa City Centre for the duration of the conference at $239 CAD/night + applicable taxes. This special rate is only available between the Sunday December 10, to Tuesday December 12, 2023 inclusive and must be booked by November 9, 2023. Other rates will apply should you wish to extend your stay. To reserve, please follow to this LINK. (Rooms are subject to availability).
Parking: Available on-site: hourly $6 | daily $25$. Please note that parking is not reimbursed or covered by Simulation Canada and pay is by own. Alternative parking can be found in the area here.
Travel
AIR CANADA: Enjoy a 10% discount on eligible fares exclusive to the 2023 SIM Expo. Booking to be made to Ottawa, YOW (ON). Travel period begins Monday, December 4, 2023 and ends Tuesday, December 19, 2023. To book a flight with your promotion code, access aircanada.com and enter the promotion code JFVPH2D1 in the search panel.
VIA RAIL: Get 10% off the best available fare in Economy, Economy Plus, Business, Business Plus, Sleeper class. Valid December 8th to December 15th from all stations throughout the VIA system to Ottawa, Ontario and return. Applies to a maximum of two passengers per booking. Subject to the conditions and restrictions of the fare plan to which the additional discount is being applied. Discount does not apply in any Escape fares and Prestige Class. One complimentary stopover is allowed at no additional charge. For travel on all fare plans in Business class, the first stopover is allowed at no additional charge, provided that this stopover takes place in Toronto, Montreal or Ottawa only. Participants must reference the event’s VIA convention discount code 14396. To book online, log in to your profile, or create one prior to booking. On the Passenger information screen, select “Convention fare” from the “Discount Type” drop-down menu, and enter the discount code for your convention or event in the “Discount code” field.
Health and Safety Plan | Cancellation/Refund Policy
H&S Plan. Our policy on masking and other aspects of health and safety is currently being reviewed by our board of directors. At minimum, Simulation Canada will be adhering to all guidelines and restrictions set by local Ottawa public health and the Province of Ontario as well as any additional measures outlined by Delta Hotel Ottawa. All attendees must comply with all public health requirements, including vaccine and mask mandates, in place at the time of the event. Simulation Canada will closely monitor guidelines and will communicate any current measures and changes to all attendees of the conference.
Event Cancellation. Simulation Canada reserves the right to cancel the 2023 SIM Expo should any circumstance beyond the control of the venue or Simulation Canada occurs—to the extent that such makes it illegal or impossible to hold the event. If such does occur, notifications will be provided after learning of such basis and a full refund of registration fees will be provided. Simulation Canada will not be responsible for any other costs incurred by attendees in arranging their attendance at the SIM Expo.
Refund policy. Attendees can request registration refunds up to 30 days before the Expo start. After this time, refunds are not possible. Please contact [email protected] for refund requests, which are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Simulation Canada is not responsible for any external cancellations (travel, hotel, etc.). Requests within 30 days of the event are subject to a cancellation fee.
- Refund requests due to emergency. Please contact [email protected] for all refund requests due to an emergency (up until conference dates). All requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis. In most cases we will offer a full refund less a cancellation fee. Simulation Canada is not responsible for any external cancellations (travel, hotel, etc.).
- Refund requests due to illness. If you are symptomatic of infectious disease or a have positive test result (including but not limited to Covid-19), please stay home. Use Ontario’s self-assessment tool at https://www.ontario.ca/self-assessment/ and follow its recommendation. Please contact [email protected] for all refund requests. We will offer a full refund less a cancellation fee. Simulation Canada is not responsible for any external cancellations (travel, hotel, etc.). We appreciate your consideration keeping our staff, your colleagues, attendees, and our community safe.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us directly at [email protected].