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BETHLEHEM, PA (2/17/2015) – Joshua Onia, Network Director of Simulation, St. Luke’s University Health Network, recently earned certification as a Healthcare Simulation Operation Specialist (CHSOS) by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH). Josh is among the first twenty-one recipients worldwide to earn this certification.

“We are proud to have the only certified simulation director in the region at St. Luke’s to have reached this level of experience and professionalism,” said Joel C. Rosenfeld, MD, MEd, FACS, Chief Academic Officer, St. Luke’s University Health Network and Senior Associate Dean, Temple University School of Medicine. “Josh provides the medical students at The Medical School of Temple University/St. Luke’s University Health Network with high-level simulation exercises that mirror real-life experiences. We are very fortunate to have Josh’s expertise in emergency medicine and simulation that he brings to the medical, nursing and allied health students as well as the residents and fellows training at St. Luke’s.”

Josh Onia, St. Luke’s University Health Network Director of Simulation, is responsible for managing the simulation labs for hands-on clinical education for allied health, nursing and medical students as well as residents and fellows training at St. Luke’s. Onia recently earned certification as a Healthcare Simulation Operation Specialist (CHSOS) by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) and is among the first twenty-one recipients worldwide to earn this certification.

As the St. Luke’s Network Director of Simulation Services for the past year, Josh has centralized the management and coordination of clinical simulation activities across the network. He has been with St. Luke’s University Health Network since 2007, most recently serving as the Simulation & Standardized Patient Coordinator in the The Medical School of Temple University/St. Luke’s University Health Network since 2011. Josh also serves as a Flight Paramedic with PennSTAR Flight Program since 2006 and has been a paramedic since 1998. Josh received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Management from Muhlenberg College and completed his Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology from Saint Joseph’s University. He is a resident of Hanover Township.

“The growing field of simulation operations is the result of the increasing demands for skills, knowledge and abilities to meet the operational needs of busy simulation centers and labs,” said H. Michael Young, CHSE, Chair of the CHSOS Subcommittee. “The CHSOS communicates to current and future employers that they have the best that this field is offering to them. These first individuals who have received this distinction have demonstrated the knowledge and skills required to support and deliver quality healthcare simulations.”

CHSOS certification was designed to support and recognize these key individuals from all over the world, said Young. For more information about this new certification, which is now available to all eligible applicants, can be found at ssih.org/Certification/CHSOS. For additional questions, please contact Andrew Spain at aspain@ssih.org.

About SSH

SSH fosters the improvement and application of simulation – based modalities such as human patient simulators, virtual reality, standardized patients and task trainers, according to the organization’s website. Recognizing that simulation represents a paradigm shift in health care education, SSH promotes improvements in simulation technology, educational methods, practitioner assessment, and patient safety that promote better patient care and can improve patient outcome.

SSH is comprised of 3,000 members from more than 40 countries. SSH membership is united in its goal to promote the use of simulation in healthcare. The diversity of membership makes SSH unique. The organization is a multi-disciplinary society, with members from a range of medical specialties and utilizing all simulation modalities.