00:00:01:18 - 00:00:30:10 Unknown Welcome to the On Record podcast. This is a podcast where we speak with industry experts and how they're using video and audio to achieve their organization's objectives. My name is Mike Anzalone and my co-host today is Carmen Haak. Thanks, Mike, and we're so, so pleased to be joined by Ruben Torres from South Texas College. He's the simulation manager for many years of experience and many years of experience in audiovisual technology in general. 00:00:30:12 - 00:01:00:12 Unknown Ruben, will you share with us a little bit about how you have come into your role of simulation manager at South Texas College? Yes. Hello everyone. My name is Ruben Torres. I've been working for South Texas College for about 22 years. In audio and visual at first. And then in 2013, I moved to the healthcare. Area where I serve as a first simulation specialist, then coordinator, and now manager. 00:01:00:13 - 00:01:23:19 Unknown You have seen the progression and you there's a really a hand in hand with audio visual and simulation. So it was a natural progression. And you're passionate about the health care field and making sure that there are the right resources and the right hardware to support the learning outcomes that South Texas College has. So, Ruben, can you tell us a little bit about your experience working with video over the course of the time that you've been at the university? 00:01:23:21 - 00:01:49:16 Unknown Yeah. So, at one point I was in charge of the nursing campus. Both in we the college does have, six campuses, but nursing and other health programs are only in three. So I was in charge of two of them, which are the biggest anyways. So, first they were buying manikins and they said, oh, they have, we have a manikin. 00:01:49:18 - 00:02:23:14 Unknown And we need a camera so we can record our students. And because, you know, audio and video, we need cameras from you. And that's how I became the expert in simulation because I knew how to manage cameras. Excellent. Now, that was my first, step into the health care simulation is specifically nursing and paramedics. So tell us about when you, are using your AV experience, what that means for simulation at South Texas College, for the students. 00:02:23:16 - 00:02:49:04 Unknown To be able to reflect and look back, how are you using that AV technology to reflect, go through debrief, etc.? Yes. Well, at the college, South Texas College STC, that's how we call it STC. So at STC, our faculty are trained to follow the standards of simulation and part of the standards of simulation is to record the students so or not so much of record but debrief the students. 00:02:49:04 - 00:03:13:20 Unknown Right. But part of our our component in simulation is to record them and then go back. We always tell the students when they showed up to simulation, this is a safe place. This is the place where you are allowed or you should make mistakes before going into the clinicals. Right. So when you stepping to that place there's no judgment. 00:03:13:20 - 00:03:43:07 Unknown There's always wrong decisions. But we try to make it positive right. So in this case that you the integration of cameras or audio and video is when the students step into the simulation and they are conducting the scenario. They get to record it, then they're done. Within five, ten minutes, they go back to their debriefing rooms and they go and see what their results are. 00:03:43:07 - 00:04:05:02 Unknown Right. So we debrief them, we go back into the recording and we point out the improvements they should make before going, of course, to the hospital, which is the great preemptive measure to make sure you you mitigate that risk. And keep it all in the simulation space. I've had the honor of being in your facility. It is state of the art. 00:04:05:04 - 00:04:43:15 Unknown It is world class. Tell us, how do you source or how do you look for specific pieces of technology, all these different components in a complex environment? How do you bring it together to make it work? How have you done that? The design component. Yeah. Well, I call it the, the Happy Meal box. I call it that because for me, in order to create the, atmosphere, simulation into, like, a real place, you have to know AV audio and video networking, computers, health care or nursing or medical background or whatnot. 00:04:43:17 - 00:05:05:21 Unknown And then you should be able to fix it, right? So you have to put that all of those components into this Happy Meal and boom, now you have a simulation specialist manager operation, whatever you want to call it. So in my case, I did focus a lot on the quality of the, audio and video based on the network. 00:05:06:00 - 00:05:31:17 Unknown I do have a background in networking and audio and video computers and all that. I was just like, why don't you do Ruben? Medical side. Which later I did to a bachelor's in, in healthcare management. So I was able to learn a lot about health care field. So anyways, I visited so many institutions and I knew exactly my needs. 00:05:31:19 - 00:06:03:18 Unknown I knew exactly what the faculty wanted. I knew exactly what the students were going to be able to do. The first thing we said is we want our students to have freedom to feel like they're in the actual hospital. So the way we design our simulation hospital is the control room. It's way outside. And we rely so much on technology, in this case on cameras and, and, and, audio microphones. 00:06:03:20 - 00:06:26:14 Unknown And the students, they just walk in and they don't see faculty. They don't see and well, they see the staff that supports stuff like us, but basically they are in on, on their own. They go get their own supplies. We just have a storage. We all supplies, just like a hospital. We get the Pyxis and they get their own, medications. 00:06:26:16 - 00:06:53:12 Unknown If they need towels and all that, we do have a place for that. Also for syringes and all that. So they on there, they get this cart they access, we record if they access to the storage to the to the Pyxis, to this and that. And I mean, they have to conduct their simulation by themselves. And faculty is just relying on the audio and video, the embed recording system. 00:06:53:13 - 00:07:22:06 Unknown Ruben talking about or as you reference faculty, what have there been any barriers to adoption from the faculty's perspective in using this kind of technology? Well, we do have some faculty that are really, really good with technology, and we also have faculty that are really, really good in nursing. I'm so much in technology. So we do our job is to get them. 00:07:22:08 - 00:07:47:17 Unknown Of course we need their expertise because I wouldn't be able to, do the nursing side. Right? Because I'm not a nurse. But, our job, my job is to have them integrate into their technology, or at least, show them how to work that technology to the point that they feel comfortable so they can deliver the material to the students. 00:07:47:19 - 00:08:21:07 Unknown So I think that's the most challenging. Situation where the faculty needs to feel very, safe working with the computers and all the, simulation. From an adoption perspective, like how much training has gone into the faculty to be able to really leverage this kind of technology? Well, in my opinion, there's never enough training that this is what I do at my college. 00:08:21:09 - 00:08:51:05 Unknown They're always busy. The best way to get them is at the start of the semester. Every time we do like a refresher of how things are changing, like, new equipment or new features, upgrades or whatnot. I do not give them trainings at the end of the semester, because then they go on a break, and by the time they come back, they they don't remember. 00:08:51:07 - 00:09:20:18 Unknown That's not their field of expertise, technology. So every start of the semester, they say they have a day. Mandatory. The faculty that will be doing simulation, they must go through training or refresher before, starting the, the semester or the simulation classes. Since you started using video, how are you seeing an increase in the number of simulation scenarios that you're running? 00:09:20:20 - 00:09:45:05 Unknown So I feel like that question for me is is different maybe from the, the concept that the most common concept of simulation, where they do have like a window and they can do simulation and just see through the window. For me, we rely 100% on, video. And like I said, we are not next to our students. 00:09:45:06 - 00:10:21:04 Unknown We are all really focused on realism, not realism. Yes, we are almost, 100ft away from the students. Okay, so going back to your question, I don't I don't see the, increase because that's the way it is. There's the standard. What I can say is that since we started with our simulation programs, we had three different, software for debriefing. 00:10:21:06 - 00:10:50:07 Unknown So when we incorporated this new software, which is IVS, the VALT system. The VALT system. I didn't see an increase or more satisfaction from the faculty for several things. But the main thing was because they can see that recordings from their offices, or if they have access directly, they just logging into the, VALT system is not on the cloud. 00:10:50:08 - 00:11:23:10 Unknown It's, just on the, school network. But remember I said we do have three different campuses far away. One the longest drive is like an hour drive from from each other. So they can be conducting simulation in our star campus, which is 100. My, grant, like 50 miles away from the main hub. And they still can see that recording from their office when the simulation was done in a remote location. 00:11:23:15 - 00:11:46:08 Unknown Oh that's pretty cool. So yes, that's pretty cool. That's what I can tell you. Yes. The increase of simulation regards that. Yes. Okay. You know, I'm kind of curious. Like, when do students actually start getting engaged in simulation in their, in their coursework? So the way it works, I'm. I can give you an example. On nursing, we do have different programs that use simulation. 00:11:46:08 - 00:12:14:03 Unknown But let me let me just go. The nursing associate degree of nursing, we have different tracks and whatnot. First, they go through their traditional skills, and then at the end of the semester for them before they go and move on to the next level, they do three weeks of intensive simulation. Very basic, very intensive. And then they move on into level two, level two. 00:12:14:03 - 00:12:49:14 Unknown They do mental health and they do med-surg. And then three OB, PD and medicine and then for medicine. And then we have a level five which is capstone. That's when it's the most, robust simulation scenarios. And and the expectations are like super high. Those are your high stakes. Yeah. Scenarios are the graduating students. So they do get almost, I'm gonna say 30 hours of simulation before going to to their capstone, which is at the hospital. 00:12:49:15 - 00:13:12:07 Unknown With your passion being simulation. And having multiple different positions and different simulation groups and also being featured in so many simulation articles and talking about your experience and background. You must be a kid in a candy store at IMSH. A lot to look at or to see and engage with. What has been your favorite part? Of this 2026 IMSH show? 00:13:12:08 - 00:13:40:10 Unknown The fluid? Yeah. You know, well, second favorite I know right now. I feel like networking. Talk to the vendors. If you have a question, this is the place for you to, get those questions answered. When I started working for the nursing department and simulation, I noticed that a sales rep will show up and said, oh, I have this equipment and this. 00:13:40:10 - 00:14:18:13 Unknown And then, oh, yeah, we'll buy. We need a. And then I see a lot of boxes stocked with brand new equipment, the closet and all that. So I started looking into those. And then when they would show up, I said, oh, we're not in Pampers anymore. And we just grown up. So I know what I need. I know that questions that I have and I can actually pick up the phone or look online or whatnot, but having a 1 to 1 talk to the sales guy or this person that you always talk over the phone, you don't know them, but you are very, know each other because of troubleshooting or because of the 00:14:18:13 - 00:14:40:08 Unknown sales. Situation, whatnot. And then you get to meet I think that, I really earned the high stack opportunity to, to meet the actual person that is helping you to provide that support for the students, even if you were to want people to meet you and ask you questions about simulation, how could someone reach out to you again? 00:14:40:10 - 00:15:05:09 Unknown For more information, to learn about your process and how you've specified your state of the art and world class simulation space. Well, the college that I work for again is South Texas College, and my email, it's R Torres at South Texas College dot edu. everything together. So it's “r t o r r e s @ SouthTexascollege.edu. You can send me an email. 00:15:05:09 - 00:15:28:15 Unknown Then we can get in contact with each other and work group. And this has been a fantastic conversation. Before we say goodbye, any last thought you'd like to share with our audience? Yes. I feel like everyone is very engaged in their simulation. We work for the students, and that's what gets me every day out of the band and go to work. 00:15:28:15 - 00:15:54:06 Unknown Because at one point and I, I been through that situation. But at one point, where I ended up in the hospital and they're going to take care of us all by me providing the best service to our students. We should thank you. It really gets me really, really, satisfied when I need to go to the hospital. 00:15:54:06 - 00:16:19:13 Unknown Hopefully not soon, but, I will be taking care of you really well with no medical errors. Well, that's a great way to wrap up our conversation. Thank you very much, Ruben, for for joining our podcast. Thank you. And if you have a young one at home, go to www.pampers.com. use code onrecord. 00:16:19:15 - 00:16:29:14 Unknown Video Solutions, hosted by Mike Anzalone and Andy Simmons and produced by Kyle Shelstad. Find us online at ipivs.com/onrecord and on social media at Intelligent Video Solutions.