Victoria Roach, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Division of Healthcare Simulation Science
Dr. Roach joined the Division of Healthcare Simulation Science at The University of Washington as a Research Assistant Professor in 2021. Dr. Roach is a medical education researcher, with a focus on the Human Factors that govern learning and performance in simulation, and serves as WISH’s Director of Evaluation and Assessment.
Dr. Roach received her Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cell Biology from The University of Western Ontario. Her dissertation sought to determine if eye movements could serve as an indicator of success in spatial reasoning, and if eye movements associated with successful completion could be applied to strategically train spatial reasoning.
Over the course of her academic career, Dr. Roach has led and lectured in graduate and undergraduate courses in anatomy, histology and research, in both online, and face to face formats. Dr. Roach has also served as a Program Director for the Embark Scholarly Concentration Program at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine and has served as a primary research supervisor for twelve medical students, two graduate students, and three surgical residents.
In the context of research, Dr. Roach aims to leverage human factors science to support the cognitive and physical work of professionals and trainees, in an effort to optimize training, working and receiving care in the healthcare setting. Dr. Roach’s research focuses on four domains of human factors science, each of which impact individual and team performance, as well as learning. These domains include Physical Considerations (such as environmental design and layout, equipment design, information displays), Cognitive Considerations (including learning, memory, judgment, decision making, and cognitive workload), Emotional/Motivational Considerations (including burnout, and stress), and Sociocultural Considerations (including teamwork, communication, production pressure, and the interactions between healthcare workers, and their environment).
Dr. Roach is a member of the American Association for Anatomy (AAA), an Affiliate Member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), and a member of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH).
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