Pub Date : 2026-02-06DOI: 10.1186/s41077-026-00411-4
Victoria Ruth Tallentire, Scott McColgan-Smith, Fiona Stewart, Seonaid McIntyre, Samantha Eve Smith
{"title":"The delicate dance of debriefing: exploring how behavioural marker systems influence the socio-emotional dynamics of simulation practice.","authors":"Victoria Ruth Tallentire, Scott McColgan-Smith, Fiona Stewart, Seonaid McIntyre, Samantha Eve Smith","doi":"10.1186/s41077-026-00411-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-026-00411-4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72108,"journal":{"name":"Advances in simulation (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146133662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-05DOI: 10.1186/s41077-026-00412-3
Wenche Lervik, Mads Solberg, Astrid Camilla Wiig, Helen Berg
Background: Simulation-based training is increasingly used in healthcare education. It allows students to practice in realistic environments using high-fidelity patient simulators and to engage with complex or rare diagnoses without risking harm to real patients. During the debriefing phase, students and facilitators reflect on actions taken and discuss what went well and what could be improved in future simulation sessions. To engage in productive reflection, students must be aware of their mistakes and performance gaps. Although the literature emphasizes the importance of providing both positive and corrective feedback, many facilitators struggle to deliver negative feedback due to concerns about hurting students' feelings or damaging their relationships. This study explores how facilitators use nursing students' mistakes to prompt reflection and discussion during healthcare simulation debriefings.
Method: This was a qualitative video-supported observational study. 17 facilitators and 89 students from three universities in Norway participated in mandatory simulation-based training in their second year of education. The framework of Heath, Hindmarsh, and Luff (2010) inspired video analysis. The units of data consisted of verbal utterances, bodily conduct, gaze, and facial expressions, as noted through observations of participants' turns at talk. We complemented this by using thematic analysis inspired by Braun & Clarke of selected video transcripts to support and deepen the analysis.
Results: The facilitators who elicited the most reflections and discussions among the students during debriefings consistently employed five communication elements: inquiries, positive feedback, hints and cues, suppressions, and summarizing.
Conclusion: The main findings provide new insights into facilitators' actions when eliciting student reflections and discussions. Many structured debriefing frameworks today include inquiries, positive feedback, and hints and cues. This analysis identified additional communication elements not previously recognized in the debriefing literature, namely suppressions and the use of summaries. Few studies have examined the facilitators' actions during debriefings to elicit student reflection and discussion, particularly through naturalistic observation of real-world practice. Further research is needed to expand our understanding of these interactional dynamics and the situated strategies employed by facilitators.
背景:基于模拟的培训越来越多地应用于医疗保健教育。它允许学生在真实的环境中使用高保真病人模拟器进行练习,并参与复杂或罕见的诊断,而不会有伤害真实病人的风险。在汇报阶段,学生和主持人反思所采取的行动,并讨论哪些是好的,哪些是可以在未来的模拟会议中改进的。为了进行富有成效的反思,学生必须意识到自己的错误和表现差距。虽然文献强调了提供积极和纠正反馈的重要性,但由于担心伤害学生的感情或破坏他们的关系,许多辅导员很难提供消极的反馈。本研究探讨促进者如何利用护理学生的错误来促进在医疗模拟汇报期间的反思和讨论。方法:这是一项定性的视频支持观察性研究。来自挪威三所大学的17名辅导员和89名学生在二年级期间参加了强制性模拟培训。Heath, Hindmarsh, and Luff(2010)的框架启发了视频分析。数据单位包括口头表达、身体行为、凝视和面部表情,这些都是通过观察参与者谈话时的轮流来记录的。我们利用Braun & Clarke对选定的视频文本进行主题分析,以支持和深化分析。结果:在述职过程中引起学生反思和讨论最多的促导者始终采用五种沟通要素:询问、积极反馈、暗示和线索、压抑和总结。结论:主要发现为引导者在引发学生反思和讨论时的行为提供了新的见解。今天,许多结构化的汇报框架包括询问、积极反馈、提示和线索。这一分析确定了以前在汇报文献中未认识到的其他传播因素,即压制和使用摘要。很少有研究考察了引导者在汇报期间的行为,以引发学生的反思和讨论,特别是通过对现实世界实践的自然观察。需要进一步的研究来扩大我们对这些互动动力学和促进者所采用的情境策略的理解。
{"title":"How facilitators use healthcare students' mistakes to promote reflections and discussions during simulation debriefings.","authors":"Wenche Lervik, Mads Solberg, Astrid Camilla Wiig, Helen Berg","doi":"10.1186/s41077-026-00412-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-026-00412-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Simulation-based training is increasingly used in healthcare education. It allows students to practice in realistic environments using high-fidelity patient simulators and to engage with complex or rare diagnoses without risking harm to real patients. During the debriefing phase, students and facilitators reflect on actions taken and discuss what went well and what could be improved in future simulation sessions. To engage in productive reflection, students must be aware of their mistakes and performance gaps. Although the literature emphasizes the importance of providing both positive and corrective feedback, many facilitators struggle to deliver negative feedback due to concerns about hurting students' feelings or damaging their relationships. This study explores how facilitators use nursing students' mistakes to prompt reflection and discussion during healthcare simulation debriefings.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>This was a qualitative video-supported observational study. 17 facilitators and 89 students from three universities in Norway participated in mandatory simulation-based training in their second year of education. The framework of Heath, Hindmarsh, and Luff (2010) inspired video analysis. The units of data consisted of verbal utterances, bodily conduct, gaze, and facial expressions, as noted through observations of participants' turns at talk. We complemented this by using thematic analysis inspired by Braun & Clarke of selected video transcripts to support and deepen the analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The facilitators who elicited the most reflections and discussions among the students during debriefings consistently employed five communication elements: inquiries, positive feedback, hints and cues, suppressions, and summarizing.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The main findings provide new insights into facilitators' actions when eliciting student reflections and discussions. Many structured debriefing frameworks today include inquiries, positive feedback, and hints and cues. This analysis identified additional communication elements not previously recognized in the debriefing literature, namely suppressions and the use of summaries. Few studies have examined the facilitators' actions during debriefings to elicit student reflection and discussion, particularly through naturalistic observation of real-world practice. Further research is needed to expand our understanding of these interactional dynamics and the situated strategies employed by facilitators.</p>","PeriodicalId":72108,"journal":{"name":"Advances in simulation (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146127715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Objectives: To determine the experience of midwives in a master's program undertaking simulation-based education for postpartum hemorrhage management.
Methods: This is a qualitative study using a descriptive phenomenological approach. The study was conducted at Selçuk University, Selçuk Simulation Center between December 15-16, 2022. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 15 midwives who were students in a master's program. Simulation-based education for postpartum hemorrhage management was applied with scenarios. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview with midwives using an in-depth bilateral interview technique. All interviews were transcribed into an electronic text file.
Results: According to the midwives' views on the simulation-based education experience, four main themes were developed: simulation experience, awareness formation, emotional effects, and the effects of the team members.
Conclusions: Midwives described that simulation-based education in postpartum hemorrhage management increased their awareness and confidence, provided valuable experiential learning, elicited emotional responses such as stress and happiness, and fostered collaboration among team members.
{"title":"Midwives' experiences with simulation-based education for postpartum hemorrhage management: a qualitative study.","authors":"Ayşe Nur Ataş, Hilal Gizem Dalgıç, Yasemin Erkal Aksoy, Sema Dereli Yılmaz","doi":"10.1186/s41077-026-00415-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-026-00415-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To determine the experience of midwives in a master's program undertaking simulation-based education for postpartum hemorrhage management.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a qualitative study using a descriptive phenomenological approach. The study was conducted at Selçuk University, Selçuk Simulation Center between December 15-16, 2022. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 15 midwives who were students in a master's program. Simulation-based education for postpartum hemorrhage management was applied with scenarios. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview with midwives using an in-depth bilateral interview technique. All interviews were transcribed into an electronic text file.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>According to the midwives' views on the simulation-based education experience, four main themes were developed: simulation experience, awareness formation, emotional effects, and the effects of the team members.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Midwives described that simulation-based education in postpartum hemorrhage management increased their awareness and confidence, provided valuable experiential learning, elicited emotional responses such as stress and happiness, and fostered collaboration among team members.</p>","PeriodicalId":72108,"journal":{"name":"Advances in simulation (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146108559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-30DOI: 10.1186/s41077-026-00414-1
Razia Sharif, Yoriko Kikkawa, Sharon Clipperton, Sarah Janssens
{"title":"Do they practise what we teach? A mixed-methods investigation into learning transfer of the maternity team approach in maternity emergencies.","authors":"Razia Sharif, Yoriko Kikkawa, Sharon Clipperton, Sarah Janssens","doi":"10.1186/s41077-026-00414-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-026-00414-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72108,"journal":{"name":"Advances in simulation (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146094815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-29DOI: 10.1186/s41077-026-00407-0
David W Tscholl, Max Ebensperger, Arend RahrischRahrisch, Helius Wang, Hubert Heckel, Max Thomasius, Alexander Kaserer, Bastian Grande, Julia C Seelandt, Michaela Kolbe
Background: Effective debriefings in simulation-based education require accurate observation of team interactions, yet facilitators face challenges due to cognitive load, observer bias, and the complexity of team dynamics. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools offer a potential means to support this process by analyzing verbal communication and providing structured feedback. This study explored how AI tools can contribute to teamwork observation and debriefing in immersive medical simulations.
Methods: We conducted a qualitative, exploratory study using thematic analysis of simulation participants' and debriefers' experiences with AI-generated teamwork reports. Forty-one participants (anesthesia nurses, residents, and attendings) participated in immersive scenarios at the University Hospital Zurich simulation center. Verbal interactions were transcribed with AI-assisted speech recognition and analyzed using two large language model-based systems (Isaac and ChatGPT-4o) guided by a prompt based on the Team-FIRST framework. Structured reports were generated for each scenario and reviewed by four simulation experts. Semi-structured interviews captured learners' perspectives on being observed by AI tools.
Results: A total of 26 AI-generated reports and 27 learner interviews were analyzed. Experts valued the detailed transcripts and illustrative quotes, which supported structured feedback and captured observations that might otherwise be missed. Limitations included inaccuracies in categorization, misattribution of speakers, overly generalized interpretations, and the absence of contextual or nonverbal information. Learners expressed openness and optimism about AI's potential benefits: efficiency, objectivity, and enhanced perception, while also raising concerns about transparency, data protection, interpretation errors, and risks of overreliance. Both groups emphasized the necessity of human oversight.
Conclusion: Generative AI tools can complement simulation debriefings by structuring communication data and highlighting teamwork patterns, supporting reflective practice. Current limitations highlight the need for multimodal approaches, refined prompting strategies, and integration with expert facilitation to ensure AI functions as a support tool rather than a replacement in simulation-based education.
{"title":"Generative AI in simulation debriefings: an exploratory study using the Team-FIRST framework and qualitative feedback from simulation experts and learners.","authors":"David W Tscholl, Max Ebensperger, Arend RahrischRahrisch, Helius Wang, Hubert Heckel, Max Thomasius, Alexander Kaserer, Bastian Grande, Julia C Seelandt, Michaela Kolbe","doi":"10.1186/s41077-026-00407-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-026-00407-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Effective debriefings in simulation-based education require accurate observation of team interactions, yet facilitators face challenges due to cognitive load, observer bias, and the complexity of team dynamics. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools offer a potential means to support this process by analyzing verbal communication and providing structured feedback. This study explored how AI tools can contribute to teamwork observation and debriefing in immersive medical simulations.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a qualitative, exploratory study using thematic analysis of simulation participants' and debriefers' experiences with AI-generated teamwork reports. Forty-one participants (anesthesia nurses, residents, and attendings) participated in immersive scenarios at the University Hospital Zurich simulation center. Verbal interactions were transcribed with AI-assisted speech recognition and analyzed using two large language model-based systems (Isaac and ChatGPT-4o) guided by a prompt based on the Team-FIRST framework. Structured reports were generated for each scenario and reviewed by four simulation experts. Semi-structured interviews captured learners' perspectives on being observed by AI tools.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 26 AI-generated reports and 27 learner interviews were analyzed. Experts valued the detailed transcripts and illustrative quotes, which supported structured feedback and captured observations that might otherwise be missed. Limitations included inaccuracies in categorization, misattribution of speakers, overly generalized interpretations, and the absence of contextual or nonverbal information. Learners expressed openness and optimism about AI's potential benefits: efficiency, objectivity, and enhanced perception, while also raising concerns about transparency, data protection, interpretation errors, and risks of overreliance. Both groups emphasized the necessity of human oversight.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Generative AI tools can complement simulation debriefings by structuring communication data and highlighting teamwork patterns, supporting reflective practice. Current limitations highlight the need for multimodal approaches, refined prompting strategies, and integration with expert facilitation to ensure AI functions as a support tool rather than a replacement in simulation-based education.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>BASEC ID: Req-2024-01642.</p>","PeriodicalId":72108,"journal":{"name":"Advances in simulation (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146087277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Competency of novice anesthesia residents in performing trans thoracic echocardiography following a structured problem-based hands-on course using a trans thoracic echocardiography simulator versus video-based training: a randomized controlled assessor-blinded trial.","authors":"Bharat Yalla, Manpreet Kaur, Abhishek Nagarajappa, Rashmi Ramachandran, Vimi Rewari, Thilaka Muthiah, Bikash Ranjan Ray, Arshad Ayub","doi":"10.1186/s41077-026-00406-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-026-00406-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72108,"journal":{"name":"Advances in simulation (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146044433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1186/s41077-026-00408-z
Marie Anderson Wofford, Cortlyn Brown, Bernard Walston, Heidi Whiteside, Joseph Rigdon, Philip Turk
{"title":"The skin color and gender of high-fidelity simulation manikins in US simulation centers and their use in cultural humility training.","authors":"Marie Anderson Wofford, Cortlyn Brown, Bernard Walston, Heidi Whiteside, Joseph Rigdon, Philip Turk","doi":"10.1186/s41077-026-00408-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-026-00408-z","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72108,"journal":{"name":"Advances in simulation (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146013565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1186/s41077-025-00405-8
Charlotte Jane Dewdney, Stephen Richard Waite, Katherine Ralston, Emma Claire Phillips, Edward Mellanby, Victoria Ruth Tallentire
Background: Clinical debriefing (CD) positively impacts individuals, teams and systems and has been shown to improve patient outcomes and staff wellbeing. Although there is a growing evidence base supporting CD, it has not been routinely adopted by many healthcare organisations. Despite the work environment being an important component of transfer of learning, there has been minimal focus on how it influences implementation and maintenance of CD in practice. The overall aim of this study was to explore the work environment barriers and enablers influencing the transfer of clinical debriefing skills from simulation to clinical practice.
Methods: Following ethical approval, medical registrars who had participated in a simulation course involving a within-scenario CD were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. These utilised Burke and Hutchins' evaluation model as the initial conceptual framework and took place at least two months post-course. Interviews explored participants' experiences of transferring learning related to CD from simulation to the clinical workplace, and were transcribed verbatim and dual coded using template analysis.
Results: Fifteen medical registrars participated in interviews between January and May 2025. The work environment influences from Burke and Hutchins' evaluation model resonated as important factors affecting adoption of CD. With the addition of subthemes generated inductively from the data, the model provided a framework for identification and articulation of the barriers and enablers to CD in the workplace. The most striking finding was participants' sense of personal responsibility to engage with CD. In addition, participants identified the requirement for cultural change to enable CD.
Conclusions: Work environment influences represent both barriers and enablers of CD in relation to the transfer of learning from simulation to clinical practice. Personal responsibility and workplace culture are important drivers of CD, and attention should be paid to the influence of both constructs in this context. Recommendations for practice, based on our findings, are designed to enable educators and organisations to promote the adoption of CD in their own settings. This will help to bridge the gap and make CD the norm, not the exception.
{"title":"Transfer of clinical debriefing from simulation to practice: exploring the barriers and enablers.","authors":"Charlotte Jane Dewdney, Stephen Richard Waite, Katherine Ralston, Emma Claire Phillips, Edward Mellanby, Victoria Ruth Tallentire","doi":"10.1186/s41077-025-00405-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-025-00405-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Clinical debriefing (CD) positively impacts individuals, teams and systems and has been shown to improve patient outcomes and staff wellbeing. Although there is a growing evidence base supporting CD, it has not been routinely adopted by many healthcare organisations. Despite the work environment being an important component of transfer of learning, there has been minimal focus on how it influences implementation and maintenance of CD in practice. The overall aim of this study was to explore the work environment barriers and enablers influencing the transfer of clinical debriefing skills from simulation to clinical practice.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Following ethical approval, medical registrars who had participated in a simulation course involving a within-scenario CD were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. These utilised Burke and Hutchins' evaluation model as the initial conceptual framework and took place at least two months post-course. Interviews explored participants' experiences of transferring learning related to CD from simulation to the clinical workplace, and were transcribed verbatim and dual coded using template analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Fifteen medical registrars participated in interviews between January and May 2025. The work environment influences from Burke and Hutchins' evaluation model resonated as important factors affecting adoption of CD. With the addition of subthemes generated inductively from the data, the model provided a framework for identification and articulation of the barriers and enablers to CD in the workplace. The most striking finding was participants' sense of personal responsibility to engage with CD. In addition, participants identified the requirement for cultural change to enable CD.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Work environment influences represent both barriers and enablers of CD in relation to the transfer of learning from simulation to clinical practice. Personal responsibility and workplace culture are important drivers of CD, and attention should be paid to the influence of both constructs in this context. Recommendations for practice, based on our findings, are designed to enable educators and organisations to promote the adoption of CD in their own settings. This will help to bridge the gap and make CD the norm, not the exception.</p>","PeriodicalId":72108,"journal":{"name":"Advances in simulation (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145960796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-09DOI: 10.1186/s41077-025-00403-w
Michelle O'Toole, Walter Eppich, Clare Sullivan, Naoise Collins, Dani Hall, Aideen Walsh, Michelle Whelan, Claire Mulhall, Andrea Doyle
Background: Globally, in excess of one billion children experience violence and abuse every year, leading to upwards of 40,000 deaths. Child safeguarding education typically occurs in professional silos across healthcare, often focusing on specific undergraduate competencies. In practice, however, child safeguarding requires a multi-professional approach, necessitating effective communication in emotionally charged contexts. To address these needs, we designed an interprofessional course using simulation-based education for experienced healthcare professionals working in the emergency department.
Methods: On three occasions, we delivered an in-person, two-day course with 32 healthcare professionals from medicine, nursing, and social work. We collected data using multiple methods including participant demographics and child safeguarding experience (n = 32), observational field notes, individual semi-structured interviews (n = 14) and focus groups (n = 4). We analyzed the data using landscapes of practice theory as a sensitizing concept.
Results: Using landscapes of practice theory, we deductively generated three key themes from our data: (1) collaborative learning, (2) the medium of language, and (3) creating a safe space. These themes encapsulate our participants' experiences in navigating interprofessional learning within newly established teams, during simulated child safety scenarios in the emergency department. Findings also detail participants' knowledge gains and confidence in reporting child safeguarding concerns.
Conclusions: This co-designed interprofessional simulation-based child safeguarding course created space for learners to renegotiate safeguarding as a shared, interdependent responsibility. Authentic, emotionally charged scenarios in a psychologically safe environment helped participants tolerate uncertainty, rehearse reporting decisions, and develop a shared safeguarding lexicon. The resulting design principles may assist educators seeking to foreground psychological safety, authentic collaboration and the child's voice in interprofessional safeguarding education.
{"title":"The CHILD safeguarding simulation study: Co-designed cHild-centred Interprofessional Learning through Dialogue for healthcare professionals.","authors":"Michelle O'Toole, Walter Eppich, Clare Sullivan, Naoise Collins, Dani Hall, Aideen Walsh, Michelle Whelan, Claire Mulhall, Andrea Doyle","doi":"10.1186/s41077-025-00403-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41077-025-00403-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Globally, in excess of one billion children experience violence and abuse every year, leading to upwards of 40,000 deaths. Child safeguarding education typically occurs in professional silos across healthcare, often focusing on specific undergraduate competencies. In practice, however, child safeguarding requires a multi-professional approach, necessitating effective communication in emotionally charged contexts. To address these needs, we designed an interprofessional course using simulation-based education for experienced healthcare professionals working in the emergency department.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>On three occasions, we delivered an in-person, two-day course with 32 healthcare professionals from medicine, nursing, and social work. We collected data using multiple methods including participant demographics and child safeguarding experience (n = 32), observational field notes, individual semi-structured interviews (n = 14) and focus groups (n = 4). We analyzed the data using landscapes of practice theory as a sensitizing concept.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Using landscapes of practice theory, we deductively generated three key themes from our data: (1) collaborative learning, (2) the medium of language, and (3) creating a safe space. These themes encapsulate our participants' experiences in navigating interprofessional learning within newly established teams, during simulated child safety scenarios in the emergency department. Findings also detail participants' knowledge gains and confidence in reporting child safeguarding concerns.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This co-designed interprofessional simulation-based child safeguarding course created space for learners to renegotiate safeguarding as a shared, interdependent responsibility. Authentic, emotionally charged scenarios in a psychologically safe environment helped participants tolerate uncertainty, rehearse reporting decisions, and develop a shared safeguarding lexicon. The resulting design principles may assist educators seeking to foreground psychological safety, authentic collaboration and the child's voice in interprofessional safeguarding education.</p>","PeriodicalId":72108,"journal":{"name":"Advances in simulation (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145946626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-09DOI: 10.1186/s41077-025-00400-z
Maria Suong Tjønnås, Sébastien Muller, Johannes Tjønnås, Mariann Sandsund, Solveig Osborg Ose, Cecilie Våpenstad, Gjermund Johnsen
Background: Simulation-based training facilitates learning of advanced laparoscopic surgical procedures. Such procedures are challenging to master due to their technical complexity, which can elicit stress responses in surgical trainees. Previous research has demonstrated the impact of stress on trainees' learning processes in skills lab. However, there is limited data comparing trainees' stress responses during advanced procedural training using box-trainers in skills lab, to those experienced during operating training in realistic simulation environments. This study aims to explore the physiological responses, self-reported stress responses, and experiences of stress of surgical trainees during advanced laparoscopic procedural training in two different simulation environments. Insights into stress mechanisms may suggest improvements for the design of future training courses.
Methods: This observational study explored participants' stress experiences through semi-structured interviews and investigated their stress responses by measuring the heart rate variability, saliva cortisol levels, and trainees' self-reported stress using a validated instrument. Participants performed advanced laparoscopic procedures on box-trainers and live animal models in operating room settings.
Results: Twelve experienced surgical trainees were included in the study. No differences were observed for physiological parameters between training activity on the box-trainer simulator and live animal models. In interviews, trainees reported experiencing higher stress levels during procedural training in operating room environment. The main themes related to elevated stress were realism and functional task alignment, perceived level of risk, and interpersonal dynamics in simulation environments. The trainees perceived the increased stress response levels as beneficial for their focus and for performing advanced procedures.
Conclusion: In this study, no significant differences were identified in trainees' physiological or self-reported stress responses across the two simulation settings. However, qualitative interview data revealed that trainees perceived greater stress when training with animal models in highly realistic operating room environments, suggesting the potential educational value of such immersive simulation environments.
{"title":"Stress responses and experiences of surgical trainees in simulation-based training of advanced laparoscopic procedures in highly realistic environments.","authors":"Maria Suong Tjønnås, Sébastien Muller, Johannes Tjønnås, Mariann Sandsund, Solveig Osborg Ose, Cecilie Våpenstad, Gjermund Johnsen","doi":"10.1186/s41077-025-00400-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s41077-025-00400-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Simulation-based training facilitates learning of advanced laparoscopic surgical procedures. Such procedures are challenging to master due to their technical complexity, which can elicit stress responses in surgical trainees. Previous research has demonstrated the impact of stress on trainees' learning processes in skills lab. However, there is limited data comparing trainees' stress responses during advanced procedural training using box-trainers in skills lab, to those experienced during operating training in realistic simulation environments. This study aims to explore the physiological responses, self-reported stress responses, and experiences of stress of surgical trainees during advanced laparoscopic procedural training in two different simulation environments. Insights into stress mechanisms may suggest improvements for the design of future training courses.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This observational study explored participants' stress experiences through semi-structured interviews and investigated their stress responses by measuring the heart rate variability, saliva cortisol levels, and trainees' self-reported stress using a validated instrument. Participants performed advanced laparoscopic procedures on box-trainers and live animal models in operating room settings.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twelve experienced surgical trainees were included in the study. No differences were observed for physiological parameters between training activity on the box-trainer simulator and live animal models. In interviews, trainees reported experiencing higher stress levels during procedural training in operating room environment. The main themes related to elevated stress were realism and functional task alignment, perceived level of risk, and interpersonal dynamics in simulation environments. The trainees perceived the increased stress response levels as beneficial for their focus and for performing advanced procedures.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In this study, no significant differences were identified in trainees' physiological or self-reported stress responses across the two simulation settings. However, qualitative interview data revealed that trainees perceived greater stress when training with animal models in highly realistic operating room environments, suggesting the potential educational value of such immersive simulation environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":72108,"journal":{"name":"Advances in simulation (London, England)","volume":" ","pages":"6"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12882263/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145946619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}