Game On
The audience and venue might change, but the anticipation, excitement, and energy are always present.
So is the need for laser focus. Causing a mistake could jeopardize the entire event. It’s my job to make sure everything runs smoothly. Students make their decisions, and act, as I stare intently, hoping for the best, but ready to react no matter what.
Then, in the blink of an eye, it's over. Students administer the correct medication, saving the simulated patient’s—um, my—life. A last-second basket is scored against Duke. My hands and mind want to race but remain steady. Concentration, focus, breath.
Whether behind the glass running a simulation, concentrating from the scorer's table at John Paul Jones Arena (JPJ), or lying prone in a hospital bed as a standardized patient, my roles are distinctly, uniquely the same: identify, decide, react, execute. My work embeds me in the School of Nursing, the School of Medicine, and at the fields and on the courts for UVA Athletics. Some days start at 6 a.m. as I settle into the simulation control room, or slip on a hospital gown, and end at 9 p.m. as I leave JPJ after a basketball game. I wouldn’t change a thing.
My first exposure to simulation came during college when training to become a resident assistant. The sim—about sexual violence—taught me more in an hour than I’d learned during my entire week of classroom lectures. It’s where I first observed simulation is an amazing tool that gives health professions students the ability to perform, practice, and perfect in a safe, controlled learning environment. I both run the simulators (the School has 13 high tech mannequins and hundreds of life-like body parts to practice with and on) from the control room and perform as a standardized patient.
My mom taught me to love sports. At 11, I attended my first basketball game at University Hall and saw all-time greats like basketball legend Bryant Stith, Virginia’s all-time leading scorer, and Dawn Staley, who spent eight seasons in the WNBA after dominating play for the Virginia Cavaliers between 1988 and 1992. I’ve cheered on UVA athletes ever since. But never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d work up-close at these events and actually contribute as well.
Games are as stressful as they are fun. Running the clocks, making sure breaks are timed correctly, and showing officials correct replays are a few of my responsibilities. I coolly rub elbows with coaches from Tony Bennett to Lars Tiffany, my mind screaming with excitement but my poker face giving nothing away. Whether it’s simulation or sporting events, when you don’t notice me, I’ve done a good job. I’m perfectly happy with anonymity. Both spaces allow me to work in an environment I’m passionate about. I assist students in their learning, keep games organized and on track, and get a front row seat as I do.
There aren’t many jobs where each day you’re given a new, exciting experience with unpredictable outcomes, but I’m blessed to have two such jobs: two unique yet connected positions that will never grow old.
Charlottesville area native Rob Craig is a graduate of Radford University and a former sports journalist. A simulation tech since 2019, he concurrently works in game operations with UVA Athletics and has a sports memorabilia shop on eBay.
