Center for Medical Simulation
The Center for Medical Simulation is a Boston-based healthcare simulation education organization founded in 1993 that trains clinicians, educators, and hospital systems worldwide using proprietary debriefing, assessment, and simulation methodologies backed by ASA endorsement and ACS Level 1 accreditation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Center for Medical Simulation does
The Center for Medical Simulation (CMS), based in Boston, MA, is a privately held healthcare simulation education organization that has trained clinicians, educators, and healthcare organizations since its founding in 1993. It operates from a headquarters and training facility at 100 First Avenue in Boston with a second training academy at Edith Cowan University's Health Simulation Centre in Joondalup, Australia, and delivers programs globally through on-site, customer-site ("host a CMS course"), and online/virtual models via its Virtual Campus LMS. The organization serves four primary customer segments: practicing anesthesiologists seeking MOCA Part IV certification; healthcare simulation educators and program leaders; hospital systems and academic medical centers (Brigham and Women's, Massachusetts General, Beth Israel Deaconess, Boston Children's, Newton-Wellesley); and health professions schools pursuing INACSL endorsement.
CMS's product portfolio is anchored by its proprietary methodological IP — Debriefing with Good Judgment®, SimZones, Circle Up©, DASH, ALPS, and Healthcare Adventures™ — which are delivered across instructor training courses (Healthcare Simulation Essentials: Design and Debriefing; Advanced Instructor Course; Simulation Leadership Intensive), clinical team training (MOCA/CRISIS Resource Management, Labor & Delivery CRM), consulting engagements (ALPS, Circle Up implementation), and the Simulation Fellowship Program. The methodology is supported by validated assessment instruments (notably DASH, a psychometrically evaluated debriefing rating tool) and CME/CNE accreditation pathways, with flagship courses awarding up to 33.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits. CMS holds endorsement from the American Society of Anesthesiologists and Level 1 accreditation from the American College of Surgeons, and reaches international customers through an Affiliate Program and partner institutions across North America, Australia, and Europe.
Revenue mechanics are professional-services based across five streams: instructor training courses, clinical simulation training (MOCA/ACRM), ALPS consulting and customized services, leadership and management training, and DASH rater training. Pricing is predominantly per-seat pay-as-you-go (DASH Rater Training at $575 per participant; historical MOCA at $1,500 per attendee) with contact-based pricing for enterprise consulting and multi-year contracts for Circle Up implementation. Distribution blends direct enterprise field sales for Boston on-site and customer-site engagements, self-serve/PLG motions for online workshops, and channel/reseller relationships via the Affiliate Program and international partner sites. Founded by simulation pioneers including Dr. Jeff Cooper and now led by Executive Director Dr. Jenny Rudolph, CMS combines academic rigor with commercial delivery across a global footprint spanning US, Australian, and European healthcare ecosystems.
Center for Medical Simulation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Center for Medical Simulation
- Legal name
- Center for Medical Simulation
- Website
- https://harvardmedsim.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Center for Medical Simulation is a Boston-based healthcare simulation education organization founded in 1993 that trains clinicians, educators, and hospital systems worldwide using proprietary debriefing, assessment, and simulation methodologies backed by ASA endorsement and ACS Level 1 accreditation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Center for Medical Simulation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Healthcare Simulation Education
- NAICS
- Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)
- SIC
- Services-Management Services (8741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Vertical/Industry-Specific LMS (e.g., Healthcare, Safety, Aviation, Government) (EDAFAAAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Healthcare & Clinical Professional Development (CME/CE) (EDAGANAJ), Core LMS Platforms (Academic & Corporate) (EDAFAAAA), Healthcare Clinical Professions (CME/CE for Nurses, Allied Health, Pharmacy) (EDAAALAC)
Keywords
Where Center for Medical Simulation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Center for Medical Simulation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Simulation Instructor Training Courses: Fees from comprehensive instructor workshops including Healthcare Simulation Essentials: Design and Debriefing (HSEDD), Advanced Instructor Course, and Gateway Debriefing Skills Workshop. Provides CME credits for physicians and certificates for other healthcare providers.
- Clinical Simulation Training: Crisis management training including MOCA (Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesia) and Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management workshops for practicing clinicians.
- Consulting and Customized Services: ALPS consulting services for health systems and health professions schools, Circle Up implementation, leadership coaching, and customized organizational development programs.
- Leadership and Management Training: Healthcare Adventures team training workshops and Simulation Leadership Intensive programs for healthcare executives and managers.
- DASH Rater Training: Training workshops for experienced debriefers to use the DASH assessment tool, offered online as webinar-based training.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | DASH Rater Training Workshop - Online |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Healthcare Simulation Essentials: Design and Debriefing (HSEDD) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | MOCA/ACRM Workshop |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Circle Up Implementation |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Webinars and On-Demand Content |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Center for Medical Simulation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CMS is a healthcare simulation education organization that trains simulation educators and clinical teams through multi-day instructor workshops, crisis resource management courses (MOCA/Anesthesia and Labor & Delivery CRM), organizational consulting (ALPS), leadership coaching, and trademarked debriefing methodology programs (Debriefing with Good Judgment®, SimZones, Circle Up©). It also licenses the DASH assessment instrument through rater training and delivers its curriculum via an online Virtual Campus LMS, plus on-site and partner-hosted formats globally.
Product overview
The Center for Medical Simulation offers a comprehensive portfolio of healthcare simulation education products and services centered around its flagship Simulation Instructor Training program. The core offerings include the Healthcare Simulation Essentials: Design and Debriefing course (featuring proprietary Debriefing with Good Judgment and SimZones approaches), Advanced Instructor Course, DASH Rater Training Workshop, and Gateway Debriefing Skills Workshop. Clinical training includes Anesthesia MOCA/Crisis Resource Management and Labor & Delivery CRM programs. The portfolio also encompasses the Simulation Fellowship Program, Applied Learning for Performance and Safety (ALPS) consulting services for healthcare organizations, Circle Up team resilience and communication system, Personal Leadership Coaching, Healthcare Adventures team-building workshops, and the Free Open Access Materials (FOAM) resource library. The organization operates a Virtual Campus learning management system to support online and hybrid course delivery. Together, these products form a comprehensive ecosystem for developing simulation educators, improving clinical team performance, and transforming healthcare organizational culture through experiential learning.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Simulation Instructor Training A comprehensive suite of courses for simulation leaders, educators, and researchers to develop and maintain high-quality healthcare simulation programs, including the flagship Healthcare Simulation Essentials: Design and Debriefing course featuring the Debriefing with Good Judgment and SimZones approaches.
- Healthcare Simulation Essentials: Design and Debriefing (HSEDD) CMS's flagship 5-day faculty development course preparing simulation program leaders and instructors to design and run simulation programs, featuring Debriefing with Good Judgment and SimZones approaches and offering 33.00 AMA PRA Category 1 CME credits.
- Simulation Leadership Intensive An intensive course designed to develop leadership skills for simulation program leaders and educators, focusing on strategic planning and organizational impact.
- Advanced Instructor Course (AIC) Advanced training for experienced simulation instructors to enhance their skills in debriefing, assessment, and program leadership.
- DASH Rater Training Workshop Training workshop teaching how to rigorously assess debriefing quality using the Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare (DASH) instrument, offered online with webinar-based delivery.
- Gateway Debriefing Skills Workshop An introductory workshop to the Debriefing with Good Judgment approach for those new to simulation debriefing, providing foundational skills in reflective conversations.
- Anesthesia MOCA and Crisis Resource Management (CRM) Intensive workshops in Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management (ACRM) for anesthesiologists meeting the MOCA Part IV simulation requirement, focusing on teamwork and skills for managing critical anesthesia events.
- Labor & Delivery: Improving Teamwork and Crisis Resource Management Training for labor and delivery teams focusing on teamwork and crisis resource management to improve patient safety during obstetric emergencies.
- Simulation Fellowship Program An immersive experience in healthcare simulation-based education designed to advance skills as an instructor, debriefer, and leader of simulation-based activities.
- Applied Learning for Performance and Safety (ALPS) Consulting and support services for healthcare systems, hospitals, and health professions schools to transform culture and performance through applied learning ecosystems and improve quality, safety, and team well-being.
- Circle Up A supportive system of work-based briefing, peer check-ins, and debriefing designed to boost clarity, coordination, and resilience in healthcare workforces, originally developed to support clinicians during COVID-19.
- Personal Leadership Coaching One-on-one or group coaching with Jenny Rudolph and the CMS Team to help healthcare professionals find direction, master chaos, and be ready for their leadership roles.
- Healthcare Adventures (HCA) Customized, intensive team-training workshops for leadership and management teams that combine simulated patient experiences in realistic clinical environments with team challenges to improve decision-making, productivity, and performance.
- Affiliate Program A network of affiliated institutions that receive support and endorsement from CMS to implement simulation-based education using CMS methods and curricula, helping affiliates achieve INACSL endorsement.
- Customized Consulting Services Tailored consulting services including short-term projects, coaching, speaking engagements, and providing CMS as a clinical facility for photography or films.
- Usability Testing Services using CMS's simulated clinical environment to test medical devices, equipment, and healthcare technologies with real users in realistic settings.
- Host a CMS Instructor Course CMS delivers instructor courses to customer healthcare organizations, allowing entire teams to train together at their own facilities.
- DASH (Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare) Assessment Instrument An assessment instrument designed to evaluate and develop faculty debriefing and instructional skills, with known psychometric properties applicable across healthcare disciplines and simulation settings.
Quantifiable outcome
- CMS provides 33.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits for flagship course, indicating high-value accredited education.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Center for Medical Simulation
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Center for Medical Simulation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Center for Medical Simulation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)coreCMS is endorsed by ASA as part of their Simulation Education Network, allowing CMS to provide MOCA Part IV simulation requirements for anesthesiologists seeking maintenance of certification.
- American College of Surgeons (ACS)coreCMS is approved by ACS as a Level 1-Accredited Educational Institute, demonstrating meet of highest standards for simulation education programs.
- Edith Cowan University, ECU Health Simulation CentremajorCMS delivers Healthcare Simulation Essentials instructor courses at ECU Health Simulation Centre in Joondalup, Western Australia, expanding CMS's international presence.
- University of Southern MainemajorUniversity of Southern Maine achieved INACSL endorsement through CMS's Affiliate Program, demonstrating success of CMS methodology in nursing education.
- University of Maine at AugustamajorUniversity of Maine at Augusta achieved INACSL endorsement through CMS's Affiliate Program for nursing simulation education.
- Mater Education, Queensland, AustraliamajorMater Education partners with CMS through webinar participation and shares simulation education expertise; Donna Bonney serves as Executive Director leading diverse simulation programs.
- University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) MedicinemajorDr. Marjorie Lee White, VP of Clinical Simulation at UAB Medicine, participates in CMS educational programming; represents CMS methodology influence on major US health system simulation programs.
- Brigham and Women's HospitalcoreCMS operates within BWH's STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation; Dr. Andrew Eyre and Dr. Demian Szyld serve as faculty with BWH appointments; hosts anesthesia simulation training.
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)coreMGH provides anesthesia residents for CMS training programs including CA-1 Intro Workshop; Dr. Dan Raemer and other faculty have MGH affiliations.
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)coreBIDMC anesthesia residents participate in CMS AICRM introductory workshops and ongoing simulation training programs.
- MGH Institute of Health ProfessionsmajorDr. Janice Palaganas serves as Principal Faculty at CMS while holding position as Associate Director of Health Professions Education at MGH Institute.
- Boston Children's Hospital (BCH)majorBoston Children's Hospital participates in CMS simulation training programs for pediatric anesthesia and critical care.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Center for Medical Simulation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Laerdal Medical: Laerdal is a global incumbent in medical simulation, offering manikins, simulation software, and partner programs like SimCapture and the Laerdal Global Health initiative — overlapping with CMS in healthcare simulation education but as part of a much wider product portfolio.
- HealthStream: HealthStream is a broader incumbent in healthcare workforce training, compliance, and credentialing, serving hospitals and health systems at scale — comparable to CMS's enterprise health-system training motion but across a much wider workforce development portfolio.
- Relias: Relias provides online training and workforce development solutions for healthcare and human services organizations, including clinical education — comparable as a healthcare-focused professional training provider serving similar institutional buyers.
Emerging players
- FundamentalVR: FundamentalVR delivers immersive VR simulation for surgical training with haptic feedback, competing for the same healthcare simulation training budgets as CMS but with a fundamentally different technology approach.
- Surgical Science: Surgical Science develops virtual reality simulation training for medical procedures and, through the Simbionix acquisition, serves hospitals and medical schools — an adjacent peer operating in the same simulation-based medical education category.
- SIMTICS: SIMTICS offers web-based simulation training for healthcare procedures and clinical skills — a digital-first competitor overlapping with CMS's clinical simulation training but focused on scalable online delivery.
- VirtaMed: VirtaMed provides high-fidelity virtual reality simulation for surgical and obstetric training — overlapping with CMS's Labor & Delivery CRM and clinical simulation portfolio in specialty procedural training.
Direct peers
- CAE Healthcare: CAE Healthcare is a major provider of simulation-based education solutions for healthcare professionals, offering both training services and simulation technology — directly comparable to CMS's instructor training and clinical simulation portfolio.
- Education Management Solutions (EMS): EMS provides simulation center management software and audio-video capture systems used by healthcare simulation programs — comparable to CMS's Virtual Campus and instructor training infrastructure for managing simulation-based education.
Others
- Medical Training Magazine / Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH): SSH is the leading professional society advancing healthcare simulation, including the IMSH conference and CHSOS/CHSE certifications referenced in CMS materials — an ecosystem enabler rather than direct competitor but a key channel and credentialing body for the category.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Center for Medical Simulation social profiles
Digital presenceCenter for Medical Simulation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Center for Medical Simulation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Center for Medical Simulation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Center for Medical Simulation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Center for Medical Simulation
What does Center for Medical Simulation do?
CMS is a healthcare simulation education organization that trains simulation educators and clinical teams through multi-day instructor workshops, crisis resource management courses (MOCA/Anesthesia and Labor & Delivery CRM), organizational consulting (ALPS), leadership coaching, and trademarked debriefing methodology programs (Debriefing with Good Judgment®, SimZones, Circle Up©). It also licenses the DASH assessment instrument through rater training and delivers its curriculum via an online Virtual Campus LMS, plus on-site and partner-hosted formats globally.
Is Center for Medical Simulation a public or private company?
Center for Medical Simulation is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Center for Medical Simulation founded?
Center for Medical Simulation was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Center for Medical Simulation based?
Center for Medical Simulation is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Center for Medical Simulation make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Simulation Instructor Training Courses are the primary driver. The others are clinical Simulation Training, consulting and Customized Services, leadership and Management Training and DASH Rater Training.
Who are Center for Medical Simulation's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Laerdal Medical, HealthStream and Relias. Emerging players are FundamentalVR, Surgical Science, SIMTICS and VirtaMed. Direct peers are CAE Healthcare and Education Management Solutions (EMS). Medical Training Magazine / Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) is listed as an others.
Does Center for Medical Simulation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Center for Medical Simulation.
What industry is Center for Medical Simulation in?
Center for Medical Simulation's product category is Healthcare Simulation Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAAAM, Vertical/Industry-Specific LMS (e.g., Healthcare, Safety, Aviation, Government), with a secondary code of EDAGANAJ, Healthcare & Clinical Professional Development (CME/CE). Its NAICS code is 6114 and its SIC code is 8741.