Ferrara Center For Patient Safety and Clinical Simulation

Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine
Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs
Director of Simulation Learning

As a physician, I often reflect on how, in the past, we learned basic clinical skills during the first two years of medical school and were then sent into third‑year rotations to practice those skills directly on patients. Our clinical exposure varied widely depending on where we were assigned, and opportunities were often inconsistent. Over time, medical education has evolved from relying primarily on opportunistic clinical encounters to integrating simulation as a foundational instructional modality. Today, simulation is embedded throughout the undergraduate medical curriculum, providing learners with a safe, structured, and high‑fidelity environment in which to develop competence before entering clinical rotations and residency.

Simulation provides learners with opportunities to practice essential skills such as data gathering, physical examination, interpretation of findings within realistic patient scenarios, refinement of clinical reasoning, performance of common procedures, and interprofessional teamwork — all without risk to patients. It also supports equitable assessment by standardizing experiences that can vary significantly in clinical settings, ensuring every learner has the opportunity to demonstrate proficiency. Deliberate practice with timely feedback and self-reflection strengthens learner confidence, enhances patient safety, and elevates the overall quality of medical training.

At the Ferrara Center for Patient Safety and Clinical Simulation, our staff brings decades of experience and educational expertise to the design and execution of realistic, immersive scenarios for all our students. Their commitment to this work reflects their dedication to each learner and to the principles of high-quality, competency-based medical education. Our collective goal is to ensure that every student graduates as the best physician they can be and that they embrace being a lifelong learner. I am grateful that our students — and ultimately their patients — benefit from these experiences. As we continue to move forward, we remain committed to our students and to the ongoing advancement of patient-centered care.

Sincerely,
Paula Ryo, DO

Director of Operations
The Ferrara Center for Patient Safety and Clinical Simulation

As Director of Operations for the Ferrara Center for Patient Safety and Clinical Simulation, I take great pride in our commitment to providing exceptional healthcare simulation experiences. We offer a safe, supportive environment, where learners work with high-fidelity manikins and standardized patients to practice essential proficiencies, receive constructive feedback, reflect on their performance, and repeat simulations as needed to build competence and confidence.

The Ferrara Center was among the first group of institutions to earn full accreditation in human simulation from the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE), reflecting our commitment to excellence in simulation-based education.

I am grateful to our dedicated staff and standardized patients, whose expertise and professionalism provide learners with invaluable opportunities to strengthen their clinical and communication skills. We remain committed to preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals through adherence to best practices, and an unwavering dedication to patient safety.

Sincerely,
Mindy Roher, M.Ed.

Paula Ryo, DO

Director of Simulation Learning
Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine
Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs

Paula Ryo, DO, is a graduate of NYITCOM and trained as a family physician. She joined the full-time clinical teaching faculty of the Department of Family Medicine at NYITCOM in 2014. She is the Director of Simulation Education at the Ferrara Center for Patient Safety and Clinical Simulation where she coordinates the clinical aspects of simulated learning for our students. In addition, she also cares for patients in the Riland Academic Health Center of the Long Island campus, teaches clinical skills in the Doctor Patient Relationship courses, and coordinates the master’s degree program in medical/healthcare simulation. Prior to joining NYITCOM, she worked in graduate medical education as the Associate Director of the Department of Medical Education at Long Beach Medical Center.

Mindy Roher, M.Ed.

Director of Operations

Mindy Roher, M.Ed., has been a member of the NYIT community for 24 years. She began her career at the NYIT College of Engineering and Computing Sciences before transitioning in 2009 to the Institute for Clinical Competence (ICC) within the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine. The ICC eventually evolved into the Ferrara Center for Patient Safety and Clinical Simulation.

For the last decade, Ms. Roher has served as Director of Operations for the Ferrara Center. In this role, she oversees all day-to-day operations and directs the Center’s standardized patient and medical manikin programs. These programs have benefited thousands of students in medicine and the allied health professions, providing them with opportunities to practice and build confidence in their clinical and communication skills.

Ms. Roher also played a pivotal role in coordinating and managing the multi-million-dollar renovation and transformation of the ICC. The newly renovated facility was renamed the Ferrara Center for Patient Safety and Clinical Simulation in fall 2023.

Laurie Callen, MA

Director, Communication Skills Education

Laurie S. Callen, MA, is the first Director of Communication Skills Education at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) and works closely with the Ferrara Center, Academic Affairs and Clinical Education to promote and develop communication skills education across the four-year curriculum. Prior to this position, Ms. Callen was the Standardized Patient Educator at Saint Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, where she served NYITCOM clerkship programs for over 10 years.

Since 2020 she has been the instructor for NYIT’s Medical/Healthcare Simulation M.S. Program, on the course entitled “Teaching and Assessing Communication Skills in Health Care.” Scholarly work includes presentations on novel communication skill strategies at the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine 2025, The International Conference on Communication in Healthcare in 2019 and 2024. Ms. Callen was selected to co-author a module on nonverbal communication for Health Care Communication (formerly known as DocCom) in 2019 and authored a chapter on mobile medical simulations in Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Mobile Medical Simulation by Carstens and Paulman et al. (Springer Publishing: 2020).

Timothy Devine, EMT-P

Lead Simulation Specialist

Tim Devine, EMT-P, is the Lead Medical Simulation Specialist. He is responsible for planning, coordinating, and directing medical manikin simulation events for students of medicine and a variety of allied health disciplines. He works with both static and high-fidelity manikins to create realistic, immersive clinical experiences that support educational objectives. These simulations provide students with opportunities to develop and practice clinical skills, including invasive medical procedures, in a safe, controlled environment. Tim collaborates with faculty to ensure that simulation activities are aligned with established educational goals, clinical practices, and best practices in simulation-based education.

Tim brings decades of experience as an Emergency Medical Technician–Paramedic, along with extensive experience teaching emergency medical and clinical skills. Throughout his career, he has trained thousands of students, drawing on his firsthand experience in emergency and prehospital care to help learners develop the knowledge, technical skills, clinical judgment, and confidence needed to provide safe and effective patient care.

Lisa Culen, MS

Lead Standardized Patient Educator
Medical/Healthcare Simulation, M.S. Instructor

Lisa Culen, MS, has been with NYITCOM since September 2007, beginning as a Standardized Patient (SP) for 7½ years before becoming a Standardized Patient Educator and, ultimately, Lead Standardized Patient Educator at the Ferrara Center. She oversees the recruitment and training of SPs and plans, coordinates, and directs standardized patient programs for medical and allied health students. She ensures that these programs adhere to the Standards of Best Practice (SOBP) established by the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE), the leading global organization for best practices in human simulation.

Since 2020, Lisa has also served as an instructor in NYIT’s Medical/Healthcare Simulation M.S. Program, developing and teaching curriculum strictly adhering to ASPE SOBP. Her scholarly work includes professional presentations at International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH), 2019; ASPE Virtual Conference, 2021; ASPE Conference, 2024; and ASPE Conference, 2025.

In 2025, the Ferrara Center was recognized as an “ASPE Accredited Program” for its consistent adherence to ASPE best practices, becoming one of a select group of institutions to receive this designation. Lisa played an instrumental role in achieving accreditation and accepted the award on behalf of the Ferrara Center at the ASPE Conference in Montreal, 2025.

Monica Schlicting, BS

Simulation Support Specialist

Monica Schlicting, BS, Simulation Support Specialist at NYITCOM’s Ferrara Center, is responsible for managing the Elevate Healthcare LearningSpace software. This industry-standard digital platform records and assesses student performance by capturing audio, video, and standardized patient data. In this role, Ms. Schlicting designs and builds programmed simulation activities tailored to diverse learning objectives. Her responsibilities include configuring digital case checklists and assessment rubrics, recording schedules and session parameters, and system announcements and user notifications.

Monica’s background spans IT, technical problem-solving, medical office management, and standardized patient work. This diverse expertise gives her the unique insight required to manage emerging educational technologies, elevate communication skills training, and create confidence-building learner experiences.

Patricia Curran Whiteman, MSEd

Standardized Patient Educator

Patricia Curran Whiteman, MSEd, serves as a Standardized Patient (SP) Educator at the Ferrara Center for Patient Safety and Clinical Simulation, bringing extensive experience in experiential learning, career education, and the performing arts to healthcare education. Before becoming an SP, she spent many years helping students develop career readiness through internships, reflective practice, and experiential learning. She later joined the Ferrara Center as an SP, using her performance experience to help healthcare learners strengthen their communication and clinical skills.

Now, as an SP Educator, Ms. Curran Whiteman trains and calibrates SPs, develops educational resources, reviews and edits cases, and coaches SPs in delivering accurate, consistent, and emotionally authentic patient portrayals. She collaborates with faculty and staff to strengthen SP programs and create meaningful simulation experiences that support patient-centered practice.

Dolores de Poto-Sarli, RCS

Simulation Technician

Dolores de Poto-Sarli, RCS, has more than 25 years of experience in the medical field as a Registered Cardiovascular Technician. Her extensive clinical background provides a valuable foundation for her role in supporting and staging the many simulation programs offered through the Ferrara Center. Her responsibilities include preparing and staging high-fidelity and low-fidelity manikins, task trainers, and specialized medical-grade supplies to create realistic, immersive simulation experiences. She also oversees and maintains inventory of simulation supplies and assists with IV insertion, intubation, Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Basic Life Support (BLS) training modules.

In addition to her technical responsibilities, Dolores actively draws from her real-life medical experiences to help create authentic and meaningful simulations, allowing students to practice clinical, communication, and decision-making skills related to real-life medical situations. Through her clinical expertise, attention to detail, and commitment to creating realistic learning environments, Dolores contributes significantly to the overall effectiveness of the simulation programs at the Ferrara Center.

Jennifer Lozipone, RN, BSN

Simulation Lab Coordinator

Jennifer Lozipone, RN, BSN, is a Registered Nurse with corporate healthcare experience in Quality Management. As Simulation Lab Coordinator at the Ferrara Center for Patient Safety and Clinical Simulation, she combines her clinical expertise and administrative experience to support the delivery of high-quality medical simulation education in a safe and supportive learning environment.

Jennifer serves as a key point of contact for students, faculty, administrators, and visitors, helping ensure that each person feels informed and supported throughout their experience at the Center. She oversees the preparation of simulation spaces and patient examination rooms, ensuring they are fully equipped with the necessary documentation, equipment, and supplies for each scheduled activity. Her attention to detail and organizational skills help keep the simulation lab running smoothly and ensure that programs are ready to meet the needs of learners and faculty.

Seymour Burgess, MS

Standardized Patient Instructional Support

Sy Burgess, MS, has worked simultaneously in communications, healthcare, and the performing arts for more than 40 years. This unique combination of experiences led him to join NYIT in 2013 as a standardized patient (SP), using his acting, communications, and instructional background to help learners develop their skills. In 2023, Sy transitioned to the position of SP Instructional Support – assisting in SP training, creating audiovisual and digital training materials, and providing real-time coaching to ensure accurate, consistent, and authentic patient portrayals. In addition to SP education, Sy has contributed to website development, proposal writing, and a variety of special projects that support the Center’s educational and operational goals.

From 2023 through 2026, Mr. Burgess authored Acting for Standardized Patients: A Module for Actors, Non-Actors & SP Educators, the first peer-reviewed learning module specifically created for standardized patients. The module is a collaboration between the Ferrara Center and the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE), the preeminent international organization authoring standards of best practice in the field of human simulation. Sy presented this module at the ASPE 2026 Conference in St. Louis, MO.

Chengusoyane Kargbo, AAS

Simulation Administrative Assistant

Chengusoyane Kargbo, AAS, comes to NYIT from a background in acting. She began her journey at NYIT as a standardized patient, where she enjoyed portraying a variety of patients while helping medical students develop their clinical and communication skills.

Now serving as Simulation Administrative Assistant, her responsibilities include assisting with standardized patient case training, maintaining student data in Elevate Healthcare LearningSpace, and helping create simulated healthcare environments that align with learning objectives. She also maintains student records, including attendance and current program status, and assists with departmental administrative needs as they arise.