Jane Cichero: Sydney Children’s to Starship. An IPSS Australia New Zealand Simulation Story with Erin Carn-Bennett

Host: Erin Carn-Bennett, Simulation Nurse Educator, Douglas Starship Simulation Programme Guest: Jane Cichero, Simulation Nurse Educator, Sydney Children’s Hospital

Episode Overview In this episode, Erin is joined by Jane Cichero, a Simulation Nurse Educator at Sydney Children’s Hospital in Australia. Jane has been shaping paediatric nursing education at Sydney Children’s Hospital Network Randwick since 1995. With over 30 years of clinical experience spanning general paediatrics, paediatric intensive care, and 16 years in emergency nursing, Jane brings a wealth of expertise to her simulation practice.

Jane currently serves as Nurse Lead for the Critical Care Simulation Team in the Emergency Department, supporting simulation services across the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. She is deeply passionate about harnessing simulation not only as a teaching tool for clinical and teamwork skills but also as a driver for quality improvement and patient safety.

Since 2004, Jane has been an Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) instructor and, since 2020, a member of the APLS support team, helping develop faculty, strengthen learner-centred teaching, and update programs with modern educational approaches. Her qualifications include a Paediatric Certificate, Paediatric Critical Care Certificate, Graduate Diploma in Clinical Teaching, a Harvard Medical Simulation Certificate, and APLS Instructor status.

What We Talk About in This Episode

• Jane’s journey into simulation and the impact on her career.
• APLS, her role in faculty development, and a recent trip to Sri Lanka.
• The IPSS story in New Zealand and Australia, including collaboration between Sydney Children’s Hospital, Starship Children’s Hospital, and the Douglas Starship Simulation Programme.
• The creation of SimPAC, a new trans-Tasman paediatric simulation collaborative born from an idea at IPSSW 2024 Lisbon. Get Involved & Stay Connected

• Are you signed up for IPSSW 2026 in Rome? Register here: https://ipss.org/event-6324652
• Join us online for IPSSV 2025 — our virtual conference: Register here: https://ipss.org/event-6288720
• Explore more through the IPSS Academy: https://ipss.org/event-6288720
• Interested in joining the new Australia & New Zealand SimPAC Collaborative? Email: [e-mail]

About the Host Erin Carn-Bennett is a Simulation Nurse Educator at the Douglas Starship Simulation Programme in Auckland, New Zealand, where she designs and delivers innovative simulation-based education for paediatric teams. She is passionate about collaboration, storytelling, and building bridges between global simulation communities. She is in her second term on the board of directors for IPSS.