Did you know SSH has 43 community groups? Boasting 11 Sections, 4 Special Interest Groups, and 28 Affinity Groups, SSH's amazing organized community is one of the largest sub-community structures in any professional association in healthcare education.
And, in my experience, it is also one of the most underused parts of SSH membership.
Sections are organized around areas of simulation practice. If your primary professional identity connects to a specific domain of healthcare simulation, there is almost certainly a Section for it. Sections produce their own programming, elect their own leadership, and contribute to SSH's committees and governance.
Special Interest Groups gather members around emerging or cross-cutting areas of practice — topics that cut across disciplines and specializations. SIGs often represent leading-edge work in the field: areas where the community is actively building knowledge and where the conversation is most alive.
Affinity Groups connect members around shared identities, roles, career stages, or professional interests that do not fit neatly into a practice domain. Early career professionals, simulation operations specialists, international members — SSH has Affinity Groups designed to give those specific communities a home within the broader organization.
Belonging to one or more of these groups does not require additional fees. It requires showing up — participating in their programs, attending their events at IMSH, and engaging in their discussions on SimConnect. The return on that investment is a tighter circle of colleagues who share your specific context.
Explore all 43 of our incredible community groups at: ssih.org/sections, ssih.org/special-interest-groups, and ssih.org/affinity-groups.
Hope to see you in one of the groups soon!
Ashley Grossman
SSH Director of Membership