Status of simulation in health care education: an international survey

Abstract

Simulation is rapidly penetrating the terrain of health care education and has gained growing acceptance as an educational method and patient safety tool. Despite this, the state of simulation in health care education has not yet been evaluated on a global scale. In this project, we studied the global status of simulation in health care education by determining the degree of financial support, infrastructure, manpower, information technology capabilities, engagement of groups of learners, and research and scholarly activities, as well as the barriers, strengths, opportunities for growth, and other aspects of simulation in health care education. We utilized a two-stage process, including an online survey and a site visit that included interviews and debriefings. Forty-two simulation centers worldwide participated in this study, the results of which show that despite enormous interest and enthusiasm in the health care community, use of simulation in health care education is limited to specific areas and is not a budgeted item in many institutions. Absence of a sustainable business model, as well as sufficient financial support in terms of budget, infrastructure, manpower, research, and scholarly activities, slows down the movement of simulation. Specific recommendations are made based on current findings to support simulation in the next developmental stages.

Keywords:

• simulation
• health care education
• innovation
• medical
• simulation center
• technology-enabled learning

Acknowledgments

We cordially thank all institutions and organizations for their participation in this study and also for their time, effort, and hospitality during the site visits. We would like to especially thank Dr Peter Brooks for providing the opportunity for us to visit most centers in Australia. We are also grateful to Dr Gavin Stuart, Dean, Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, and Dr Garth Warnock, Head, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, for approving Dr Karim Qayumi’s sabbatical to complete this work. We also acknowledge the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the American College of Surgeons for providing the opportunity for discussion forums. Funding for travel to all national and international simulation centers was provided in part by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and in part by the Canadian Patient Safety Institute.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.