Q: I am a member of the faculty at a college of pharmacy. We have a nascent simulation program. One question that bubbles to the surface repeatedly in our faculty team meetings is, “How much do I reveal about the learning objectives before they go into the simulation?” It has become a bit contentious, with positions that run the gamut from “You should tell them everything,” to those with a “Gotcha!” attitude, who think all learners will “just have to figure it out when they get in there.” Your advice? I don’t want to keep relitigating this over and over….
A: Oooooo, those “Gotchas!” We gotta really work to hold the Basic Assumption sometimes, especially about our colleagues! Guessing their frames here, your peers could be thinking, “Simulation should be challenging.” And the frame of the person who says, “Tell them everything?” Probably one of wanting to ensure a psychologically safe environment. They’re both right: we all just need to find the balance.
I found the INACSL Standards of Best Practice: Simulation to be helpful here. They advise: reveal high level objectives about the nature of the case; don’t reveal the specific behavioral objectives that are going to be assessed (either formative or summative). So, if I were conducting a simulation for an interprofessional Obstetrics team, I’d probably tell them that they were going to be caring for a primigravida experiencing prolonged labor, and that we were going to be focusing on teamwork and management of the patient. I would not tell them of any specific behaviors I’m looking for, such as explicitly stating a leader, calling for help early, and use of specific obstetrical procedures.
I hope you find this helpful!
-Mary Fey, Associate Director, Applied Learning for Performance and Safety
Resources:
INACSL Standards: https://www.inacsl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3407
Specific Standard: Simulation Design – addressed objectives: http://www.nursingsimulation.org/article/S1876-1399(16)30126-8/pdf
The International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) has developed the INACSL Standards of Best Practice: SimulationSM. The INACSL Standards of Best Practice: Simulation were designed to advance the science of simulation, share best practices, and provide evidence-based guidelines for implementation and training.
