Meet Our Keynote Speakers: 

Jennifer Arnold, MD, MSc

Jennifer Arnold, MD, MSc, is a board-certified neonatologist. Her unique perspective on medicine has been shaped by the various ways she has engaged with the field: as a pediatric and adult patient, cancer survivor, mother, and doctor. 

A native of St. Petersburg FL, Arnold received her undergraduate degrees in biology and psychology from the University of Miami. She completed her medical degree at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2000 and attended a pediatric residency program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in 2003.

A founding director of the simulation centers at Texas Children’s Hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Arnold has a passion for innovating the application of healthcare simulation as an educational and patient safety tool. Since 2022, she has served as program director for the Immersive Design Systems at Boston Children’s Hospital, the primary pediatric teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School. She also hosts the hospital’s “Boston Children’s Answers Podcast."

Kevin Ching, MD

Dr. Ching is an Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College and an Attending in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and the Medical Director of the Weill Cornell Medicine New York Presbyterian Simulation Center. As Director, Dr. Ching oversees the development and implementation of interprofessional multidisciplinary teaching programs in simulation for nurses, residents, faculty, and medical students. He is actively engaged in simulation research on the role of human factors in pediatric emergencies, procedural skills success and retention, and the effect of simulation on patient outcomes. In addition, Dr. Ching is the co-founder and chair of BASE Camp, an international interprofessional conference that brings together pediatric emergency medicine providers from all over the globe every year. He has published articles examining simulation teaching models and lectures internationally in this area. Dr. Ching is also the founder and director of the medical school's high-impact two-week Transition-to-Residency course for all graduating medical students and new nurse residents. Dr. Ching has received numerous teaching awards for his work in education and simulation. In 2023, Dr. Ching was awarded the Jeanne & Herbert Siegel Award For Excellence In Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Ching graduated from Lehigh University and received his medical degree from MCP/Hahnemann University (Drexel) College of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell, and his Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at New York University-Bellevue, where he later served as an Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics.

Makani Purva, D.A. (UK), F.F.A.R.C.S, M Med, M.B.A, HEA 

Prof Makani Purva is a Consultant Obstetric Anaesthetist at Hull Teaching Hospitals, UK. She was the Founder Director of Simulation at Hull Institute of Learning and Simulation, the largest simulation centre in Yorkshire. Prof Purva is Past President of Association of Simulated Practice in Healthcare in the UK. She was the lead author of the first simulation standards in the UK.

She also developed an accreditation process to enable individual, program and organizational accreditation. She was one of the first to establish a Post Graduate MSc course in Simulation in collaboration with Hull University. 

Prof Purva is an Honorary Professor at Hull York Medical School and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Healthcare Simulation. She is an advisor to several simulation centers in India and is influencing the national agenda of simulation in the country. Her research publications focus on in situ simulation modalities, curriculum mapping using simulation and use of simulation to reduce learning curve.