Meet The Team

Clarissa Torcasio - Simulation Coordinator

Clarissa is a simulation educator with a clinical background in critical care nursing. Clarissa has a passion for using simulation to support team development and equip clinicians with the skills required for the complex healthcare environment. She enjoys collaborating with her team to create bespoke, interprofessional training to meet the evolving learning needs of clinicians. Her specific areas of interest are debriefing, translational simulation and faculty development. Clarissa has a Masters of Clinical Simulation and is faculty with Monash University, teaching into the Post-Graduate Certificate and Masters of Clinical Simulation. Clarissa has an interest in research and this year will be leading a project focused on the role of educators in supporting the message of cultural safety. When not at work Clarissa enjoys spending time with her family, riding bikes and eating pizza.

Georgie Hodgson - Simulation Educator

Georgie is an experienced Critical Care RN with over 20 years’ experience working in the Emergency Department. She has been working within our Sim Team for the last 4 years as a Simulation Educator and thrives on helping to develop multidisciplinary staff to be confident in their patient assessment skills and management of the deteriorating patient. She is currently undertaking Postgraduate studies in Clinical Simulation through Monash University. Before moving into Simulation, Georgie also spent a considerable amount of time working in conflict zones throughout Iraq and Afghanistan on operational deployment where she consolidated her trauma skills and mass-casualty response. In her spare time she loves dressing up her two adorable dachshund dogs and winning competitions around Victoria in the “Best dressed” category.

Paige McCullough - Simulation Educator

Paige joined the simulation team to pursue her passion for education. She enjoys being able to work with multidisciplinary teams and to help them develop their skills as clinicians. She has a keen interest in the development and delivery of simulations that are interprofessional to better reflect the team dynamics in the workplace. She enjoys the technical challenge of running the mannequin and providing it’s voice. She is currently preparing to undertake post graduate study in clinical simulation to further her skills and knowledge. When not in simulation, she enjoys the challenge of caring for patients with complex medical needs within the ICU as a clinical nurse specialist. In her spare time she enjoys baking, astrophotography, crocheting and snowboarding.

Dino Druda - Simulation Educator

Dino is a simulation educator with a background in Emergency Medicine. He gained his ACEM fellowship in 2011 and has been working as a consultant emergency physician at St Vincent’s since 2013. He sub-specialised in toxicology, and works as a consultant toxicologist for Monash Health and the Victorian and New South Wales Poisons Centres. He completed a sabbatical with Monash Simulation in 2022, where he developed a 2-day simulation based toxicology course, and has gone on to work as a simulation educator at St Vincent’s since. As a toxicologist, he developed an understanding of the challenges in managing critically unwell patients when distant from significant resources, and the significant improvements that clear communication and organisation brings to patient care. He is keen to bring his experience to simulation based education, looking at how to understand human factors and improve communication to improve patient care. When not at work, he can be found relaxing with his young family, listening to records, and spending time on the beaches of Phillip Island.

Laura Burns - Medical Education Registrar

Laura has taken on this role in medical education within the simulation team as part of her training as an Emergency Medicine Registrar. Laura has enjoyed working with the team to run simulation sessions for healthcare professionals from a variety of disciplines and looks forward to continuing to build her knowledge and skills in developing and enacting immersive simulation scenarios. Laura is committed to becoming an effective educator who is able to impart clinical knowledge and inspire learners through hands-on training. In her spare time Laura tries to stay active. She enjoys CrossFit and walks with her Kelpie (Charlie), finding balance and rejuvenation in movement and mindfulness.