The International GTA MUTA Association (IGMA) is a relatively new organization founded in July of 2019 as the only professional organization dedicated solely to GTA MUTA methodology. There are a fair number of professional organizations dedicated to methods of simulation from standardized patients, to partial task trainers but prior to IGMA’s founding there were none dedicated to this exceptional method of instruction. Though IGMA is in its infancy, the organization has a great number of accomplishments under its belt in the year and a half of its existence, not the least of which is a highly successful international conference that was held virtually.

The IGMA conference, Voices of Success; Global Partnerships Creating Excellence in Health Care Through GTA MUTA Education, took place on December 5 and 6, 2020 and was conducted on a virtual platform. There were seven presentations from across the United States and internationally and 21 esteemed co-presenters from four different countries. The topics ranged from racial inequity in health care, to inclusion of the methodology in sexual assault nurse examiner training, to transgender healthcare as well as a variety of others. All topics focused on some aspect of GTA/MUTA methodology and were designed to include participation from GTA/MUTA instructors, program directors and trainers.

The IGMA Board of Directors and Conference Committee are proud to say that feedback from conference attendees has been overwhelmingly positive making the conference a sweeping success. One conference attendee, Kristin Benson, a GTA Program Coordinator from Illinois, was kind enough to take the time to reach out to IGMA about her conference experience. With her permission, her thoughts have been reprinted here. We thank Ms. Benson for sharing her thoughts with us. Consider joining our organization and making a difference in the next generation of health care providers and their patients!

Dear IGMA group,         

This letter is to express how marvelous the recent conference was and how glad I am that I ended up being able to attend THIS one, the very first one, as I had not been sure if I would be able to attend.  The mix of speakers and topics was rewardingly eclectic and inspiring. It made me freshly grateful for my involvement in this very interesting teaching that we do and made me look forward to more sessions in the post-Covid era and even current sessions as long as enough safety protocols are in place. I especially appreciate the explicit inclusion of not just “administrators”, clinicians and faculty but of some GTAs and MUTAs from across the country and the globe who are actually in the rooms, on the tables and more recently helping to translate this teaching to the virtual format due to Covid.  We have all struggled with Zoom in various ways in this Covid era but in this instance, I thought it was managed really well and rarely interfered in the ways we have sometimes encountered. I got disconnected several times due to my own internet connection and was so pleased to be readmitted promptly vs the delay I had occasionally encountered in other Zoom meetings I had attended. I was surprised at how connected I began to feel to the group as we moved together through the two packed days.  Thank you so much to all of you for ALL of the hard work I am sure you put in around this AND….  SPECIAL thanks to Isle for having the initial vision and the energy I am sure she put into pushing it to this manifestation. Kudos to you all!
Best!
Kristin Benson, GTA/GTA coordinator

Thank you Kristin! See you at our next meeting!

(IGMA offers Roundtable discussions that are free and open to the public, every other month. Our next Roundtable is set for Friday, March 12, 2021 at 11:00am Eastern Standard Time. We also host events such as Webinars for members. Email admin@gtamuta.org for more information.)