Having established UNMC at the forefront of simulation technology in health professions education, UNMC’s iEXCEL program – the Interprofessional Experiential Center for Enduring Learning – is stepping into a new future.
The vision for what’s ahead: iEXCEL 2.0.
The iEXCEL program arose out of discussions dating to 2014, before it took shape with the opening of the Davis Global Center in 2020.
Since then, faculty and students have grown to appreciate a venue and a program where they can innovate in health care simulation technology and generate remarkable breakthroughs in curriculum delivery and research, said Pamela Boyers, PhD, associate vice chancellor of clinical simulation, iEXCEL.
The level of interest around the program has been exciting and gratifying, as people look to UNMC for new ways to deliver health professions education, Dr. Boyers said.
Overall, iEXCEL’s vision has not changed: To improve human performance and effectiveness in health care.
“The reason for iEXCEL 2.0,” Dr. Boyers said, “is to ensure that UNMC remains on the cutting edge of interprofessional, experiential and immersive simulation for health care professionals by ensuring relevance in training as they prepare to practice in every evolving health care environment.
“That means improving efficiencies of operations and moving from the initial ‘organic’ phase of growth, often like a start-up, to a highly focused and organized model that prepares us for the next phase of growth.”
iEXCEL 2.0 already is underway based on the following goals:
- Spreading statewide outreach to ensure broader access to experiential and immersive learning.
- Emphasizing human performance and effectiveness outcomes research through intensified faculty engagement.
- Broadening engagement with the University of Nebraska system, including other disciplines, and contributing more to research and workforce development.
- Increasing the capabilities and adoption of 3D immersive reality simulation.
- Expanding academic and scholarly opportunities for students and faculty.
- Advancing the iEXCEL business mission.
Moving to iEXCEL 2.0 has required expansion of three of its leaders’ professional roles. (See sidebar for more information.)
Benjamin Stobbe, who now is assistant vice chancellor for advanced and statewide simulation, iEXCEL, will spearhead iEXCEL’s statewide outreach.
“Expanding iEXCEL to locations like the Kearney campus validates our commitment to delivering high-quality, experiential learning statewide,” Stobbe said. “By aligning with health care and academic partners across the state, we’re not only extending UNMC iEXCEL’s innovative simulation model but also strengthening the future of our workforce and the quality of patient care statewide.”
Overall, Dr. Boyers said, the intent behind the expansion of leadership roles is to create a flatter organizational structure that ensures efficiency of operations.
Dr. Boyers said that in anticipation of enhanced AI and data-driven decision making, creation of intelligent digital twins, as well as prototyping and testing new technologies, an iEXCEL Lab for Emerging Technologies is being created.
“Living on the forefront of technology innovation in health professions education takes purposeful strategy combined with a growth mindset,” Dr. Boyers said.
