The Penn State Hershey Clinical Simulation Center offers a Simulation Education and Research Fellowship. This is a self-funded (unpaid) educational opportunity that follows a curriculum designed to meet the specific needs of individuals interested in furthering their knowledge and skill in simulation-based education. The program includes formal classes, apprenticeship, workshops, seminars, and conferences. Specific milestones are required for completion including developing and presenting a simulation-based case, participation in Journal Club, and completing the Center’s five-day Simulation Instructor Course. See the document below for a full description of the program.
The Fellowship is open to physicians, nurses, educators, technicians, and administrators. More information about the fellowship https://psu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/Simulation+Fellowship+Informational+Link11/1_3pus8sk2
Simulation Education and Research Fellowship Document
Interested persons should send a cover letter describing personal and/or professional goals with simulation and a Curriculum Vitae (CV). After initial review, international applicants will also need to send documentation for US visa application including passport information and documentation of adequate funding for staying in the United States (living expenses and health insurance) during the duration of the Fellowship.
Past Fellows
Simulation Education and Research Fellowship Alumni
Kwaku Owusu-Bebiako, MBChB, MPH – Dr. Owusu-Bebiako earned his medical degree at the University of Ghana and also received a Master of Public Health from Washington University in St. Louis. After service as a general practitioner in Ghana, Dr. Owusu-Bebiako worked in pediatric anesthesia research at the University of Michigan.
Mary Sukumar, MBBS, MD – Dr. Sukumar earned her MBBS and MD degrees at Christian Medical College in Vellore, India. She was awarded a diploma in Clinical Research Administration from the University of Liverpool and a certificate in Health Professions Education form the University of Connecticut. Most recently, Dr. Sukumar served as an anesthesiologist at Corniche Hospital in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Luis Felipe Gonzalez Vazquez, MD – Dr. Gonzalez Vazquez received his medical degree from Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. He most recently served as an attending anesthesiologist at Saturnino Lora Hospital Santiago of Cuba. He also has a Master in Natural and Homeopathic Medicine from Ciencias Médicas de Santiago de Cuba.
Daniel Rodriguez Bauza, MD – Dr. Rodrigu
ez from the University of Medical Sciences of Holguin, Cuba. He specialized in intensive care medicine prior to immigrating to the United States. As part of his fellowship responsibilities, he will assist in leading the International Medical Graduate program in which the Clinical Simulation Center participates as a training site.
Benjamin Semakuba, MD – Dr. Semakuba graduated from the Université de Goma, Faculté de médecine (DRCongo), and completed a residency in Anesthesia at the University of Rwanda, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, as well as additional training in intensive care medicine at the Hôpitaux Universitaires, Paris Nord Val de Seine, Bichat-Claude Bernard.
Rafaella Fadel Friedlaender, MD – Dr. Friedlaender is a graduate of Universidade Positivo in Brazil. She is a certified Pediatric Critical Care physician from the Brazilian Intensive Medicine Association (AMIB). Her career in her home country has included working as a PALS instructor and as an assistant professor for medical students in the pediatric emergency department and also as an attending physician in the pediatric and neonatal care units. She enrolled in the simulation fellowship to improve her teaching abilities. learn about simulation-based research, and the use of simulation in medical education.
Nataliya Bilger, MD – Dr. Bilger was trained in Ukraine as a ENT surgeon. In addition to being a physician, her initial education was as a nurse. She is currently serving as a Simulation Technician at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center while working towards her US physician licensure.
Aldo C
respo, MD – Dr. Crespo is the Curriculum and Academic Coordinator at O&M Medical School at the Universidad Dominicana in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Upon completion of his fellowship, he returned to Santo Domingo to expand the simulation capabilities at the university.
Hector Lopez, MD – Dr. Lopez was Associate Professor of Medicine at the Penn State College of M
edicine and lead the human structure program in the college. Dr. Lopez enrolled in the Fellowship to learn how to more effectively integrate simulation concepts into the anatomy curriculum. He is now an Associate Professor in Pathology and Cell Biology at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Lidys Rivera, MD – Dr. Rivera was trained in Colombia as a general practice physician. She enrolled in the fellowship program to learn about simulation-based education and to improve her teaching abilities while also learning about the US healthcare system. Dr. Rivera helped establish an innovative program to assist International Medical Graduates in preparing for US medical license examinations. She is now a pathology resident at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Susana Larbi Wumbee, MHP, MPA, BSN, RM, RN, FWACN – Ms. Wumbee completed her fellowship 
in 2016. She is currently the simulation director at the Mountcrest University Medical School in Accra, Ghana. She was trained as both a Registered Nurse and a Midwife in addition to having an extensive public health background. She used her fellowship opportunity to learn about all aspects of simulation including curriculum design and integration, faculty development, technical operations, and administration.
Angel Diaz Sanchez, MD – Dr. Diaz Sanchez completed his fellowship in 2015 and is currently a resident physician in Anesthesiology at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. He earned his medical degree in Santiago, Cuba, and practiced as an anesthesiologist in Cuba and Venezuela before immigrating to the United States. His fellowship training in the Center included learning all aspects of healthcare simulation such as creating simulations, programming simulators, and conducting debriefings.
