Simulation Instructor Training

Advanced Debriefing Course

(ADC)

Course Details

For experienced simulation instructors

With an emphasis on debriefing skills, the Advanced Debriefing Course (ADC) is designed to enhance and extend instructional techniques learned in CMS’ Simulation Instructor Courses. Using high-leverage methods from experiential learning and organizational psychology, this four-day intensive immersion in debriefing, taught by senior CMS/Harvard Medical School faculty, presents a conceptual framework and uses repeated micro-cycles of practice and feedback on debriefing, scenarios and strategic challenges to accelerate skill acquisition and demonstrate methods of faculty development. The course is structured to allow participants to experience a model of peer- and mentor-led “community of inquiry.” This community allows individuals to reflect on their own and other people’s instructional and management practices in action.
uses extensive practice and feedback to help attendees become more reflective about their instructional practices.

The daily format varies and includes didactics, advanced debriefing practice, advanced scenario development, development of advanced self-observation and reflection skills, and peer- and mentor-led consulting on strategic challenges for your simulation program.

The peer-to-peer feedback processes used in the ADC also develops participants’ ability to help other faculty within their institution improve their instructional techniques. Participants will run and debrief one of their own scenarios, learn how to use an Action Science technique to reflect on debriefings and learn how to provide rigorous feedback on debriefings using a structured assessment tool. There will be some didactics, but mainly the course will be interactive and engaging. Your learning begins before the course starts through online feedback and interaction with faculty on the course pre-work assignments.

Topics Include:

  • Frameworks for structuring faculty development in simulation
  • Advanced debriefing techniques, including debriefing the debriefer
  • Preventing and managing difficult debriefing situations
  • Understanding and managing realism and fidelity in scenario development
  • Using debriefing assessment to structure feedback or summative assessment
  • Advanced conversational techniques for steering debriefings
  • Advanced topics in scenario development (e.g. medical error, delivering bad news, ethical problems, death of a patient, faculty development scenarios)

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course, participants who fully engage in all activities will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate enhanced feedback and debriefing skills
  2. Construct faculty development activities to assist instructors in their program to use simulation most effectively.

Format:

Led by highly experienced CMS faculty, the course combines didactic and experiential learning with practice and feedback. Participants will run and debrief one of their own scenarios, learn how to use an Action Science technique to reflect on debriefings and learn how to assess the quality of debriefings. There will be some didactics, but mainly the course will be very interactive and engaging. This course is a hybrid of in-person and optional online exercises on the CMS Virtual Campus site.

The peer-to-peer feedback processes used in the course also develops participants’ ability to help other faculty within their institution improve their instructional techniques. Your learning begins before the course starts through online feedback and interaction with faculty on the course pre-work assignments.

This course is a hybrid of online and in-person exercises facilitated by one or more instructors. Our advanced courses are tailored to your learning needs and current instructor challenges. These courses therefore require 2-4 hours of work from you completed over several weeks. With input from faculty and peers, you prepare and submit assignments on your own schedule over the course of a two-week period through an online course website called the CMS Virtual Campus site. Instructions for accessing the CMS Virtual Campus site are sent to participants once tuition is received.

Equipment Requirements:

In order to participate fully, each person must bring their own computer or mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone.

In order to participate, each person must have:

  • Their own computer (tablets and mobile phones do not allow full engagement)
  • Reliable high-speed internet access (minimum 3 Mbps upload/download speed)

Course Prerequisites

To be eligible for this course, participants must have previously taken either the Comprehensive Instructor or Simulation as a Teaching Tool courses. Individuals who have not taken either course may apply for an exemption if they can demonstrate significant debriefing experience and expertise. Please contact us to request an exemption.

Application Process:

Complete the online application form offered by the host site (see course dates below) or email the contact person listed at the course location you where would like to attend. No other information is needed.