Five-Year Professional Learning Plan

Five-Year Professional Learning Plan

Year One

Foundation Building & Strategic Exposure (Current - Spring 2026)

    • Academic publishing foundations

    • Consultancy strategy and portfolio refinement

    • Enhanced use of simulation in health education

    • Submit journal articles for publication

    • Establish my personal brand as a consultant

    • Strengthen scholarly writing skills

    • Align FCC program improvements with best practices

    • Join additional professional associations:

      • Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)

      • INACSL (for simulation)

    • Edit and Submit articles by the end of the year (Surg Tech Social simulation, case study building using ChatGPT)

    • Consulting: Complete 1–2 small external learning design jobs to refine my process, contracts, and testimonials

    • FCC Focus: Develop a plan to introduce my simulation training more formally and share at departmental meetings

    • Global focus: Share simulation approach and format with other Surgical Technology Programs at AST conference.

Year Two

Visibility & First Publications (2026-2027)

    • Peer-reviewed publication

    • Simulation scholarship

    • Scaling consulting impact

    • Publish at least one of my writings

    • Present at a national or regional conference

    • Refine standardized participant training workshop and tools (for social simulation)

  • Submit 2 articles:

    • Journal of Surgical Education or The Journal of Simulation in Healthcare

    • TechTrends or Educational Technology Research and Development (ETR&D)

    • AST Magazine

    • Apply to present at:

      • AECT

      • INACSL

      • SIMA (Society for Simulation in Healthcare)

    • Expand EngagementLab website to include publication updates

    • FCC Focus: Continue improving upon Social Simulation for Surgical Technology students

Year Three

Mentorship & Thought Leadership (2027-2028)

    • Mentorship and thought leadership

    • Deepening simulation design expertise

    • Expanding consultancy network

    • Serve as a mentor or guest lecturer

    • Launch a research project with FCC students or faculty

    • Expand my simulation research with a larger sample

    • Collaborate with another program (e.g., Nursing, Respiratory) on an interprofessional simulation

    • Design and run a simulation-based research study (e.g., impact on teamwork, communication, or confidence)

    • Start mentoring or peer-coaching adjuncts or new educators in instructional design

    • Submit your third article (e.g., comparing traditional and simulation-based OR prep training)

    • Guest on a podcast or webinar related to instructional design in healthcare

Year Four

Program Development & Larger-Scale Consulting (2028-2029)

    • Long-term curricular changes

    • External collaborations

    • Book or toolkit publication

    • Broaden consulting reach with advertising

    • Hire two additional employees

    • Begin designing a learning designer's toolkit for surgical tech educators

    • Lead a revision initiative (e.g., integrating more simulation, aligning with AST Core Curriculum updates)

    • Draft a book proposal or toolkit for designing engaging simulations in surgical technology programs

    • Consult for a hospital or simulation center to design or evaluate training programs

    • Begin exploring PhD/EdD options (optional, if publishing and research become central to your goals)

Year Five

Recognition & Legacy Building (2029-2030)

    • Recognition in field

    • Sustainable program growth

    • Publication of a signature work

    • Publish a book/toolkit

    • Establish myself as a simulation & instructional design expert

    • Ensure sustainability of my innovations at FCC

    • Apply for awards/grants:

      • AST Educator of the Year

      • AECT Design & Development Award

    • Publish my simulation toolkit/guidebook

    • Lead regional workshops/webinars for other surgical tech programs

    • Create a sustainability and faculty training plan at FCC to carry my simulation work forward