Harnessing the Power of Simulation: Advancing Social Work Practice through Hospital Committees.

This article focuses on the development and implementation of a hospital social work (SW) department simulation (SW SIM) committee that created a simulation-based learning (SBL) course targeting suicide risk assessment and management competencies for social workers at a large, urban, quaternary pediatric hospital. The committee, formed through departmental surveys and leadership collaboration, designed the course using established curriculum frameworks and partnered with the hospital's simulation program to adapt psychosocial skill training into a live simulated case scenario. Pilot testing with SW leadership demonstrated the course's feasibility and acceptability, highlighting the value of experiential learning for social workers. Despite positive outcomes, resource limitations led to the committee pausing active status, though the initiative expanded social workers' involvement in broader institutional simulation programs. The article concludes that committee-led efforts, supported by leadership and adequate resources, can effectively foster professional development in clinical social work practice within healthcare settings.