Simulation Centre Faculty Bios

Learn more about our faculty

BioSketch: Lorraine Betts RN, MN, CHSE

Lorraine Betts is a Professor in Sally Horsfall Eaton School of Nursing at George Brown College. She obtained her Nursing Diploma from George Brown College, Post RN degree from Ryerson University and a Master of Nursing from York University. Lorraine has completed the Comprehensive Instructor Course at the Centre for Medical Simulation in Boston. In May 2016, she completed the Advanced Instructor Course at the Centre for Medical Simulation in Boston and in Dec 2016, she received her Certification for Health Care Simulation Educator (CHSE) from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.

Ms. Betts joined George Brown College in 2002 and has worked in many areas including the RN diploma program, student health records and clinical placements, the Collaborative Nursing Degree Program, RPN Bridge to BScN and the simulation center. She has extensive experience in delivery of high to mid-fidelity simulation for undergraduate nursing education including scenario development and debriefing. Ms. Betts is expanding her portfolio to include the development and implementation of a faculty development and mentoring program in simulation to build faculty capacity in the area of undergraduate nursing simulation education.

Ms. Betts's current passion is in nursing simulation education including virtual simulation and research related to simulation education.

BioSketch: Joanne Guatto RN, MS, PNC©

Joanne is a practicing RN with thirty-eight years of experience in Maternal-Child nursing. She obtained an Associate Degree in Nursing from Pace University, New York in June 1979 and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1981 from Wagner College, New York. From October 1979 to April 1984, Ms. Guatto practiced in New York State in Medicine/Surgery and then Labour and Delivery. In May 1984, Ms. Guatto moved to Canada where she has practiced as a Case Room nurse at Humber Memorial Hospital until 1989, then moved to become the Maternal-Child educator at Wellesley Hospital until 1991. Upon completion of her role as a maternal child educator, Joanne returned to Humber to be the nurse educator until 2001. With her experience as a Nurse educator in a hospital setting, Ms. Guatto moved on to become an instructor and then full-time faculty at George Brown College while furthering her education to obtain a Perinatal Nurse Certificate from Canadian Nurse's Association which she maintains to this day. In 2005, Joanne attended D'Youville College to complete a Master's degree. For the past 10 years, Joanne has been utilizing simulation as a teaching-learning tool to educated practical nursing students. In 2016, Ms. Guatto completed the Instructor workshop at the Center for Medical Simulation in Boston.

BioSketch: Jacqueline Schmid RN, MN, CHSE

Jacqueline Schmid is a Professor in the Sally Horsfall Eaton School of Nursing at George Brown College. She obtained her Nursing degree and Masters in Nursing from the University of Toronto.

Ms. Schmid joined George Brown College in 2015. Prior to that, she worked at Ryerson University as a Clinical Instructor and from 2009-2015 was instrumental in bringing simulation to the Collaborative Nursing Degree Program at the Ryerson Site as the Professional Practice and Simulation Coordinator. She has had extensive training in the use of simulation as a teaching tool for undergraduate nursing. She attended the Comprehensive and Advanced Instructor Courses at the Centre for Medical Simulation in Boston, the Simulation Intensive Program in California, Laerdal Simulation Programming in Florida and several other courses through SIMone in Ontario. In 2014 she received her Certification for Health Care Simulation Educator (CHSE) from the Society for Simulation In Healthcare. She has extensive experience in delivery of high to mid fidelity simulation for undergraduate nursing education including scenario development, briefing and debriefing. Ms. Schmid is expanding her portfolio to include the establishment and implementation of a faculty development and mentoring program in simulation to build faculty capacity in the area of undergraduate nursing simulation education at George Brown College.

BioSketch: Subashini Sivaramalingam RN, MS

Subashini (Suba) has been a faculty member at the Sally Horsfall-Eaton School of Nursing at George Brown College since 2013. Prior to this appointment, she taught in the Personal Support Worker and Practical Nursing programs at the College between 2004 and 2012. She is a Master's prepared nurse completing her post-graduate degree at D'Youville College in Buffalo, New York in 2008. Suba has been a RN since 2001 practicing on the Medical/Surgical unit.

Having commenced in the simulation program here at George Brown in 2010 Suba developed a keen interest in this teaching modality. In 2016 she attended Harvard's Simulation Program that has increased her foundation in understanding simulation and the unique properties of debriefing using the advocacy and inquiry method. She has developed case scenarios, provided pre-briefing and debriefing of scenarios. She is consistently involved in numerous research studies as well. She is a current Simulation Strategic Steering Committee member.

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Land acknowledgement

George Brown College is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.


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