SUMMARY Review date: 1969 to 2003, 34 years. Background and context: Simulations are now in widespread use in medical education and medical personnel evaluation. Outcomes research on the use and effectiveness of simulation technology in medical education is scattered, inconsistent and varies widely in methodological rigor and substantive focus. Objectives: Review and synthesize existing evidence in educational science that addresses the question, ‘What are the features and uses of high-fidelity medical simulations that lead to most effective learning?’. Search strategy: The search covered five literature databases (ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Timelit) and employed 91 single search terms and concepts and their Boolean combinations. Hand searching, Internet searches and attention to the ‘grey literature’ were also used. The aim was to perform the most thorough literature search possible of peer-reviewed publications and reports in the unpublished literature that have been judged for academic quality. Inclusion and exclusion criteria: Four screening criteria were used to reduce the initial pool of 670 journal articles to a focused set of 109 studies: (a) elimination of review articles in favor of empirical studies; (b) use of a simulator as an educational assessment or intervention with learner outcomes measured quantitatively; (c) comparative research, either experimental or quasi-experimental; and (d) research that involves simulation as an educational intervention. Data extraction: Data were extracted systematically from the 109 eligible journal articles by independent coders. Each coder used a standardized data extraction protocol. Data synthesis: Qualitative data synthesis and tabular presentation of research methods and outcomes were used. Heterogeneity of research designs, educational interventions, outcome measures and timeframe precluded data synthesis using meta-analysis. Headline results: Coding accuracy for features of the journal articles is high. The extant quality of the published research is generally weak. The weight of the best available evidence suggests that high-fidelity medical simulations facilitate learning under the right conditions. These include the following:

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Features and uses of high-fidelity medical simulations that lead to effective learning: a BEME systematic review

Interventional pulmonary procedures: Guidelines from the American College of Chest Physicians.

Background Surgical skills are required by a wide range of health care professionals. Tasks range from simple wound closure to highly complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Technical expertise, although essential, is only one component of a complex picture. By emphasising the importance of knowledge and attitudes, this article aims to locate the acquisition of surgical skills within a wider educational framework.

Simulators Simulators can provide safe, realistic learning environments for repeated practice, underpinned by feedback and objective metrics of performance. Using a simple classification of simulators into model-based, computer-based or hybrid, this paper summarises the current state of the art and describes recent technological developments. Advances in computing have led to the establishment of precision placement and simple manipulation simulators within health care education, while complex manipulation and integrated procedure simulators are still in the development phase.

Evaluation Tension often exists between the design and evaluation of surgical simulations. A lack of high quality published data is compounded by the difficulties of conducting longitudinal studies in such a fast-moving field. The implications of this tension are discussed.

The wider context The emphasis is now shifting from the technology of simulation towards partnership with education and clinical practice. This highlights the need for an integrated learning framework, where knowledge can be acquired alongside technical skills and not in isolation from them. Recent work on situated learning underlines the potential for simulation to feed into and enrich everyday clinical practice.

Simulation in surgical training: educational issues and practical implications.

Simulation for medical and healthcare applications, although still in a relatively nascent stage of development, already has a history that can inform the process of further research and dissemination. The development of mannequin simulators used for education, training, and research is reviewed, tracing the motivations, evolution to commercial availability, and efforts toward assessment of efficacy of those for teaching cardiopulmonary resuscitation, cardiology skills, anaesthesia clinical skills, and crisis management. A brief overview of procedural simulators and part-task trainers is also presented, contrasting the two domains and suggesting that a thorough history of the 20+ types of simulator technologies would provide a useful overview and perspective. There has been relatively little cross fertilisation of ideas and methods between the two simulator domains. Enhanced interaction between investigators and integration of simulation technologies would be beneficial for the dissemination of the concepts and their applications.

https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/qhc/13/suppl_1/i11.full.pdf

A brief history of the development of mannequin simulators for clinical education and training

https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(09)60176-8/pdf

Lessons for Continuing Medical Education From Simulation Research in Undergraduate and Graduate Medical Education: Effectiveness of Continuing Medical Education: American College of Chest Physicians Evidence-Based Educational Guidelines

Oliver Galbraith

Papers

Virtual Reality Bronchoscopy Simulation: A Revolution in Procedural Training