Assistant Professor
McMaster University, Canada
Sarah Patterson is a Certified Child Life Specialist whose career has spanned over 30 years, providing care to children in a number of clinical areas at Sick Kids Toronto coupled with over 20 years of teaching at several universities. Currently Sarah is an Assistant Professor and the Curriculum Coordinator for the Master of Science in the Child Life and Pediatric Psychosocial Care Program at McMaster University, Canada. She played a critical role in the co-creation of the design and content from inception and establishing the only child life masters program across Canada. Sarah’s current research within psychosocial practice and simulation education brings together many different discipline collaborators to the studies she is involved with and she has been invited to present her work locally, nationally, and internationally.
Sarah’s expertise and engagement in child life extends beyond her clinical and academic work. She is an international subject matter expert consultant for Sick Kids International. Sarah has designed, developed, and delivered pediatric psychosocial training and education initiatives in Austria, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, South Africa, and Qatar.
She lends her expertise within simulation faculty development workshops, with committees at INSPIRE (International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research, & Education), and IPSS (International Pediatric Simulation Society). In the last two years, Sarah was elected to the IPSS Board of Directors as the first child life specialist to serve on the board, and was invited to deliver the INSPIRE inaugural grand rounds in 2022 on unifying emotional and physical safety within simulation-based education.
Her passion, wisdom, and deep commitment to emotional safety, clinical simulation-based learning, preparation of learners entering the field, overall education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion continue to drive her.