Simulation-Based Training The Future of Competency?

Traditionally, continuing education has focused on cognitive skills and technical skills, namely, what the provider needs to know and what the provider needs to be able to do. Successful completion of such education programs has conferred some degree of competence on the learner. For the most part, continuing education has been performed in silos with each healthcare provider discipline developing a program designed to meet the needs of their group. The Institute of Medicine and the Joint Commission have issued reports addressing patient safety, morbidity, and mortality of the newborn infant and maternal mortality, respectively. These reports call for the education of healthcare providers to include multidisciplinary team training and/or drills. Simulation-based training (SBT) is a methodology of education that is uniquely able to address cognitive and technical skills as well as behavioral skills and is ideal for multidisciplinary team training. As a result, SBT is beginning to be adopted in healthcare education. However, the following questions remain: Is a dedicated simulation space necessary, how should SBT be incorporated into the existing education program, and will it confer competency?