F. Shawn Galin, Ph.D., professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine and director of the Office of Standardized Patient Education at UAB, has been named president-elect of the Association of Standardized Patient Educators, the international organization of educators dedicated to human simulation.
Galin will step into this leadership role in January and serve during the 2021-24 executive cycle.
“This is a huge honor and I am humbled by the amount of support I have received by ASPE members and current/past ASPE leadership,” Galin said. “I look forward to representing UAB most effectively as president of ASPE and highlighting the UAB campus as one of academic excellence and distinction, always adhering to the highest standards of best practice in standardized patient methodology.”
Galin, a School of Medicine faculty member for 24 years, has led UAB’s Office of Standardized Patient Education, housed within the UAB Center for Interprofessional Education and Simulation, since 2015. Standardized patients are individuals trained to perform in clinical training scenarios – portraying history, physical exam findings, and emotional affect of real patients— exactly the same with each learner, providing students with key experiential educational experiences in a controlled and safe environment.
As the international organization of simulation educators, ASPE dedicated to promoting best practices in the application of standardized patient methodology for education, assessment and research by fostering the dissemination of research and scholarship in the field and working to advance the professional knowledge and skills of its members. ASPE has around 800 members representing academic institutions across the world, including in North America, Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia and South America.
Galin said he also looks forward to strengthening ASPE’s ongoing partnerships with affiliate organizations like the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH), the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL), the Society in Europe for Simulation Applied to Medicine (SESAM), and the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) and bringing the wealth of information he learns back to UAB to further support the university’s educational mission.