What is SIM-ND?

SIM-ND operates under the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS).

As part of North Dakota’s only medical school, SIM-ND supports the School’s mission to improve the health of people across the state by strengthening rural healthcare education, workforce development, and emergency preparedness. SIM-ND brings state-of-the-art clinical simulation directly to rural and frontier communities. Our mobile labs allow healthcare teams to train together in realistic, high-fidelity scenarios without needing to leave their local communities.

Since 2013, SIM-ND’s mobile units have traveled statewide to provide immersive, hands-on training for:

• EMS and first responders

• Critical Access Hospitals

• Clinics and rural health facilities

• Interprofessional healthcare teams

The program does so using four 44-foot mobile simulation lab trucks that offer two separate simulation spaces and provide versatile and unique learning opportunities. With the help of high-fidelity human simulators, SIM-ND can immerse learners in a safe but realistic learning environment.

Initially funded by a grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, SIM-ND began as a partnership between UND, North Dakota’s six tertiary hospitals in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot, and the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHS). Today, the program maintains relationships with the DHS and three of North Dakota’s major health providers: Altru Health System, Essentia Health (Fargo), and Sanford Health (Fargo).