Simulation: A Relevant Pedagogical Approach
Simulation is integrated into new and relevant teaching methods for training healthcare professionals. It has also long been used in other fields, such as aeronautics*, and can be seen as a tool for simulating one's work environment.
In healthcare, "simulation has established itself in just a few years as an essential tool for training professionals in high-risk fields."*
Since 2010, the French National Authority for Health (HAS) has promoted the use of simulation in healthcare, and a comprehensive guide on the subject was published in 2019.
Simulation: A Pretext for Debriefing
According to the French National Authority for Health (HAS), simulation in healthcare refers to "the use of equipment, virtual reality, or a standardized patient to recreate care situations or environments, to teach diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and to enable healthcare professionals or teams of professionals to practice processes, clinical situations, or decision-making."*
More generally, it involves playing a role in an environment that has been partially or completely recreated in a different time, in which the actions performed have no direct consequences for patients. This is the famous "never the first time on a patient" principle.
Simulation in healthcare combines several factors that promote learning. Indeed, the value of simulation goes beyond simply practicing a technique and performing a specific action.
It allows one to grasp a realistic environment, to understand its complexity, but also to reflect on one’s own thoughts, actions, and emotions. This is sometimes referred to as reflexivity or metacognition. However, the quality of learning through simulation also depends on another key element: debriefing. This is a time for analysis and synthesis that follows the simulated situation. It is often said that the simulation is merely a pretext for debriefing. Pierre Pastré defines debriefing as “all the sequences that aim, after the action, to lead learners to a reflective (and retrospective) analysis of their own activity.” The main objective of debriefing is to foster learner reflexivity, and it is a key moment for learning from a simulation. It allows learners to analyze their actions through feedback and also to adjust them through group discussions with the trainer. Its role is to “help participants understand, analyze, and synthesize their reasoning, emotions, and actions during the simulation in order to improve their future performance in similar situations.”* The implementation of a debriefing: The debriefing must be carefully prepared by the trainers. The 3D model for Defusing, Discovering, Deepening offers an interesting structure. Other models exist. Let’s briefly explain the RAS model (similar to 3D), which typically unfolds in three phases.* The initial “reaction” (R) phase allows participants (or learners) to express their emotions and immediate feelings. This phase helps release tension by verbalizing experiences, thus facilitating calm and productive discussions later on. It is a descriptive phase where learners may be asked to describe the events that occurred and their corresponding reactions. The second phase, called "analysis" (A), explores the actions taken and the reasoning that led to them. This phase, guided by the trainer/debriefer, must meet the learning objectives defined in the training program. The third phase is "synthesis" (S).
This phase can be conducted by either the trainer or the learner, and its main purpose is to assess learning. It must also clearly define new objectives and improvement measures in terms of knowledge, skills, and behaviors.
SafeTeam Academy and Simulation
The founders of SafeTeam Academy are simulation trainers and have leveraged their pedagogical expertise to innovate and offer a new approach to simulation.
Building on in-situ simulation —the ultimate form of full-scale simulation—Drs. F. Martin and F. Jaulin developed perceived simulation: much like in a movie, learners are immersed in an immersive video in which practices and routines are examined.
SafeTeam Academy uses simulation as a tool to improve the reliability of healthcare practices by drawing on a long-established industry in France: cinema. Thanks to feedback from professionals in the field, the immersive video training modules are scripted based on real-life stories—drawn from cases reported in the Patient Safety Database—thus reflecting “real life.” Realism and perceived authenticity are key drivers of learning. This experiential learning tool helps analyze practices and develop new skills within healthcare facilities, thereby promoting the learning of healthcare professionals. Furthermore, to meet this challenge, SafeTeam Academy also employs teaching methods used in simulation. The goal: to develop metacognition. This involves reflecting on how we communicate, how we make decisions, how we work…
Metacognition is developed through reflective questions posed during the film, inviting healthcare professionals, immersed in an emotionally engaging context, to question their practices.
The e-learning training programs offered by the SafeTeam Academy are designed to be complemented by in-person debriefing sessions and facilitated discussions focused on improving practices. In this sense, simulation centers and simulation trainers are true agents of change and work together seamlessly to offer the most powerful blended learning experience available today.
If you’d also like to help improve the quality of care within your organization, SafeTeam Academy’s training programs are for you! For more information, please email us at: contact@safeteam.academy
