February 22, 2019By Lance Baily

*New* Healthcare Simulation Resource Pages: Debriefing, Birthing Simulators, Sim Centers & More

Simulation Champions looking to learn or share more about key topics in healthcare simulation will find great use of some of the new pages HealthySimulation.com has created over the past month. Topics range from explaining a simulation center (or simulation centre in some parts of the world), to what a patient simulator, birthing simulator, simulation debriefing, and more! Here today we are summarizing just a little bit of each page so you can know to bookmark (or share) these pages for later. Great resources for those looking to learn or share more about medical simulation!

Simulation Debriefing

Healthcare Simulation Debriefing is a period of time following an experiential learning activity during which learners/teams reflect, review and discuss the activity with the goal of improving individual and team clinical skills and judgement. Here we take a deeper look at the simulation debriefing process and provide a handful of examples from the many debriefing models available from clinical educators around the world. In the past, many healthcare disciplines relied on the apprenticeship model which relied on learners encountering enough situations to ensure that they became competent. More recently, healthcare simulation has become extensively used as it provides scheduled, valuable learning experiences where learners not only put their knowledge into practice, but also practice decision making and communication skills.


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Simulation Centers

A Simulation Center (aka Simulation Centre) is a dedicated area within a healthcare education building, medical center or training facility which is devoted to medical simulation. Healthcare organizations simulate care activities at these centers which may include some or all of the following: use of life like manikins with varying levels of complexity (human patient simulation), virtual reality computerized animations, specialized trainers for repeated practice of medical interventions (task trainers) and actors trained to behave and respond as patients (standardized patients). In Europe these educational facilities are called Simulation Centres.

Birthing Simulators

A birth simulator is an automated high-tech lifelike patient manikin that mimics a woman going through labor and delivery used in healthcare simulation. These complex manikins are also known as a labor simulators, childbirth simulators or birthing simulators. The complexity of these unique patient simulators range from a simple static model, where the operator physically moves the baby through the birth canal, to a highly technical model which is fully automated and which can deliver a baby with differing configurations. Some birthing simulators come with a baby manikin which contains realistic characteristics such as cardiac and respiratory functions. Other manikins are wireless with no attached cables. This means the mother can deliver her baby in the most unexpected places!


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High Fidelity Simulation



High Fidelity Simulation is a healthcare education methodology that involves the use of sophisticated life-like manikins (sometimes called mannequins) in realistic patient environments. Simulation scenarios can take place anywhere, from austere environments for EMS or Military Simulations, to clinical environments like surgical simulation inside a simulation centers. These complex manikins, which are also known as human patient simulators or high-fidelity simulators mimic human anatomy and physiology. In Healthcare Simulation, the degree to which a particular manikin can reproduce or mimic human physiology is known as fidelity. The manikins that most closely resemble human anatomy are designated as high-fidelity manikins. A static manikin with very limited functionality is designated as low-fidelity. Low fidelity manikins also known as task trainers may be used for repeated practice of clinical skills such catheter placement or wound care.

Simulation Lab

A simulation lab is designed to provide immersive learning experiences for healthcare practitioners and students. A simulation center, which consist of realistic looking clinical sim lab rooms, manikins and equipment, allow learners to practice and development clinical expertise without any risk of patient harm. Learners apply their theoretical knowledge in carefully created hands-on scenarios that mimic various clinical situations inside these simulation laboratories. These scenarios range in complexity and/or skill level. For example, healthcare simulation may be used for undergraduate medical and nursing schools, internships, residencies and ongoing training for qualified practitioners.

Simulation Research Journals

Yesterday we also launched a new Healthcare Simulation Research Journal Listings Page! These medical simulation journals have paved the way for academic exploration, understanding, and evolution of the modern day methodology with numerous unique moving parts including: scenario development, debriefing, facilitation, technology, operations, learning theories, and more. In this article we list some of the top clinical simulation research journal publications and their three latest research articles.

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