Can We Do Better Together? Leveraging Simulation-Based Learning in Health Professions Education

Abstract

Simulation uses artificial representations of real-life situations that allow participants to experience conditions they are likely to encounter in a safe, standardized, low-stakes environment. They can incorporate role play, manikins, task trainers, simulated participants, virtual and augmented reality, software platforms, and other approaches. Simulations are used to develop various skills among learners (e.g., procedural, clinical reasoning, and communication skills). We utilized a participatory case study approach to highlight simulation-based training in three health professions programs at Auburn University, a large R1 institution in the southeastern United States, and to explore shared practices and challenges. Our group consisted of two faculty members each from the colleges of nursing, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine. Each author pair provided the group with a first-person narrative describing the incorporation of simulation as an approach to both education and assessment in their respective curricula, including skills that are targeted, the strengths of the approaches utilized, and the challenges they have personally faced in incorporating those approaches into their curriculum. We participated in a group discussion to share our experiences and explore ways to create synergy and address challenges through collaboration across the three colleges. Thematic analysis of the discussion transcript was used to identify major themes. This work provides a model for other institutions with multiple health professions programs that use simulation-based training to strengthen their programs through collaboration and sharing of their experiences.