Dr. Michael DeVita is a founding member of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) and Associate Editor of the journal Simulation in Healthcare.  He served as President Elect during 2008 and was inaugurated as President at the annual SSH Congress in Orlando, Florida in January 2009. Dr. DeVita lectured on  the topic of being comfortable with simulation in his presidential address at the congress. During his year as the SSH leader he will emphasize improved patient safety and provision of better care using simulation training.

Dr. DeVita has served with distinction on the Pitt Faculty of Critical Care Medicine for 20 years. He has received approximately $1.5 M in research grants and has published 150 scientific papers and book chapters. He was promoted to Professor of CCM in 2006. In addition to his prominence in the field of simulation training, Dr. DeVita has particularly contributed to improve organ donation for transplantation, ethical problems in patient care and development of rapid response systems in the hospitals worldwide. He is a popular speaker on these topics and is frequently called upon for presentations at major medical meetings and as a visiting professor at medical centers througout the US and abroad.