The Team

Ralph MacKinnon is a Visiting Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University, Faculty of Health, Psychology & Social Change and a Consultant Paediatric Anaesthetist & Paediatric High Dependency Care Physician, with special interest in Simulation Education,at theRoyal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Manchester Foundation Trust. He founded and directed the North West Simulation Education Network (2011-2015), leading a high quality NHS workforce education and development program of inter-professional initiatives across over 50 NHS hospitals and Higher Educational Institutes in the North West of England. He was a co-founder of a global community that catalyses discoveries and promotes collaboration in simulation-based research, scholarship and innovation. The International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research and Education currently has 685 members, from 314 sites in 40 countries. He served as the International Chair on the executive committee from inception in 2011 to 2016 and now serves on the Advisory Committee. He co-developed and then lead of the UK Managing Emergencies in Paediatric Anaesthesia course (2005-2018) and has assisted in international dissemination.

Dr. MacKinnon has authored 45 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 3 book chapters related to the practice of Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation, paediatric trauma care and simulation-based education. He has participated in several collaborative international multi-center research grant funded projects. His current research is focussed upon a novel paradigm for the acquisition of CPR skills, Functional Resonance Analytical Methodology, Virtual Reality and Trauma care. He is currently completing a PhD at the Karolinska Institutet Stockholm exploring the initial resuscitation of traumatically injured children. He has served as an Executive Board Member and Member At-Large of the Board of Directors for Society for Simulation in Healthcare (2019-2016). The largest global non-for profit organisation advancing the application of simulation in healthcare. He has also served on the board of Directors for the International Pediatric Simulation Society (2015-2016). A global community from over 30 countries dedicated to improving the care of infants and children world-wide through multi-disciplinary simulation based education, training and research. Dr MacKinnon has been appointed as the Director of Resuscitation at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital in March 2020.