The University of Central Florida College of Nursing has received a $1 million grant to establish an endowed chair for healthcare simulation.
The Florida Hospital Endowed Chair for Healthcare Simulation will support the research and development of enhanced simulation technology to improve health care education, UCF said. Research professor Gregory Welch, Ph.D., a computer scientist and engineer, has been appointed to the chair.
“We are grateful to our partner, Florida Hospital, for its great generosity,” said Mary Lou Sole, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Nursing. “This new endowed chair underscores the College of Nursing’s commitment to becoming a national leader in developing and testing innovative technologies to enhance nursing and health care education as well as patient care delivery. Ultimately, patient outcomes will be improved.”
This is the sixth endowed chair established in the College of Nursing, and the second chair that Florida Hospital has endowed at UCF. The first is in the College of Medicine.
“Dr. Welch brings significant education and experience in simulation from a culture outside of health care, and we believe he will challenge our thinking about medical simulation in all the right ways,” said Sheryl Dodds, chief clinical officer at Florida Hospital. “We feel his work will have a positive effect on both health care education and our clinical operations. We are excited to be working with Dr. Welch, UCF and other professionals as we explore new opportunities and expand the Florida Hospital approach to simulation in health care.”
Welch worked on the Voyager Spacecraft Project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and on airborne electronic countermeasures at Northrop-Grumman’s Defense Systems Division before teaching. His primary focus now is improving the simulated patients that are used in the education of nurses and other health care professionals, as well as other uses of technology for patient care.
“Computer scientists don’t exist to develop technology and conduct experiments in a vacuum,” he said. “As one of my mentors, Fred Brooks, says, we are tool smiths who support the work of others. Health care professionals help other people and so supporting them appeals to me personally.”
The tenured chair includes appointments to the UCF nursing faculty, the Institute for Simulation and Training, and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
