George Olson
Chair
George is a Simulation Senior Trainer/Coordinator for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. Prior to OHSU George was a Simulation and Clinical Information Specialist at Tillamook County General Hospital. George’s career in simulation began with thirteen years in the United States Navy. Highlights of George’s achievements include: managing and coordinating the EMT program for the Naval Hospital Guam and implementation and coordination of Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support, Advanced Trauma Life Support and Trauma Nursing Core Courses. George was a member of the Naval Medical Education and Training Commands goals group to evaluate the use of simulation throughout Navy Medicine, and was recognized as the Naval Hospital Corps School’s expert in the area of human patient simulation.
Jesika Gavilanes, MA
Chair-Elect
Jesika has worked at Oregon Health & Science University for 12+ years and recently was appointed as the Statewide Simulation Manager of the OHSU Simulation & Clinical Learning Center (SCLC), working with the undergraduate nursing students, advanced practice nursing students, and medical residents. She chairs the OHSU simulation operations committee at the hospital and is the Dean appointed member of the OHSU Diversity Advisory Council. Jesika taught with the “Workforce Improvement with Immigrant Nurses” Program in Oregon, helping foreign nurses to improve their nursing and communication skills through the use of simulation. In 2009 Jesika received funding from the Oregon Center for Nursing “Nurturing Cultural Competency in Nursing” grant focusing on the integration of cultural competency into simulation. Jesika is a simulation specialist for the SCITT (Simulated Code Interprofessional Team Training) in the hospital and handles all of the logistical and operational details. Jesika developed and implemented a statewide Simulation Tech Academy for the Oregon Simulation Alliance, educating over 45 sim techs across the state of Oregon. Jesika completed her Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Portland State University in August of 2008 and her research interest is in diversity and simulation.
Georgina Ottaviano, RN-BC, B.S.N., Certified in Nursing Staff Development
Secretary/Treasurer
Georgina’s prior experience in obstetrics and a leader in the use of simulation resulted in her selection as Coordinator of Regional Simulation for Kaiser Permanente Northwest Region. The Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center simulation lab serves a large number of in patient and out patient healthcare providers. Georgina has provided leadership by partnering with other healthcare facilities to further the knowledge and use of high-fidelity simulation.
Council Members
Paula Gubrud, EdD, RN, FAAN
Paula is the Associate Dean for Academic Partnerships, Technology and Simulation at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing. She is also co-director of the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE) and has been working on the clinical redesign project. This project includes establishing practice and policy related to the integration of simulation as a clinical learning activity in nursing education. She has over 20 years of nursing education experience that spans both associate degree and baccalaureate education. She led the design of a new simulation lab at Mt. Hood Community College and facilitated the integration of simulation into the nursing program curricula and several other allied health disciplines.
Gregg Lander, B.S., NREMT-P
Gregg is an instructor and program chair of the EMT and Paramedic program at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, where low and mid-level simulation has been used for many years. He has been involved with the design and implementation of the College simulation center for EMT and nursing programs. For over 30 years Gregg has been involved in Emergency Medical Services as an EMT in rural/frontier to urban areas. He has worked as a street paramedic, preceptor, FTO, training coordinator, regional training coordinator, flight medic, swat medic, state training coordinator, and state EMS director. Gregg is currently chair of the Oregon State EMT Consortium.
Mary is currently the Simulation Program Manager at the University Of Portland School Of Nursing. She utilizes simulation as a teaching tool for over 450 hours per term while working with junior and senior students. Prior to her employment at the University Mary was the Staff Development Coordinator at Tillamook County General Hospital, where she was responsible for developing the project/business plan for the local simulation coalition comprised of six entities. She developed the simulation suite at the hospital which was used extensively and was also available for local high school health occupations and community college health program students’ use.
Jana Taylor, MS, RN
Jana is Professor of Nursing at the Linfield Good Samaritan School of Nursing at Linfield College where she has taught baccalaureate nursing students for 20 years. In her role as Simulation Program Director she oversees the integration of high fidelity simulation into the BSN curriculum, and the training of faculty and staff in best practice simulation methodologies. She has been the project director on two simulation grants and currently she is doing validity and reliability testing on an assessment rubric that can be used to evaluate clinical skill development in Linfield’s’ BSN students.
Trish Weaver, R.N., B.S.
Trish is the Simulation Specialist/Consultant for the N.W. regional of Kaiser Permanente which spans from Longview Kelso down to Salem. She has been involved in most aspects of simulation including development, writing, facilitation and debriefing of simulations. Simulations for the N.W. Region cover basic ACLS codes, post partum hemorrhage, Malignant Hyperthermia to assisting with training and systems checks in opening the new services such as our mental health and addition medicine and Cardiovascular Services which included taking SimMan into the O.R. Trish has a broad based nursing career including direct patient care, case management, hospital supervisor and nursing education. She was appointed to the State Board of Nursing Home Administrators in the 1990’s by Gov. John Kitzhaber.
Brandi Young, B.S.N., R.N.
Brandi has been the Education Director at Tillamook County General Hospital for two years. One of her responsibilities is the utilization of simulation to meet staff development needs in this rural critical-access hospital. She also coordinates the use of the simulation suite by community college nursing programs and the area high school health occupation program. Brandi is enrolled in a Master of Nursing/Education degree program.
Ex-officio
David Giles
Executive Director
With both a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Business minor from Seattle University, David began a long career in medical sales with Johnson & Johnson. During his 30 year plus sales career, he progressed steadily from selling healthcare commodities to representing medical devices and eventually advanced to selling medical capital equipment. While with a major medical simulator manufacturer, he learned of the OSA mission and vision, and shared this passion for advancing medical simulation with his accounts in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. In 2010, David enrolled in the Institute of Nonprofit Management at Portland State University and is on track for completion of a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management and Development at the end of the 2011-2012 academic year. He has served as an independent business consultant to medical simulation organizations since early 2010.
