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An introduction to digital simulation in healthcare
An introduction to digital simulation in healthcare

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References

Artino, A.R., Durning, S.J., Schuwirth, L., van der Vleuten, C.P.M. (2013) ‘A clinical reasoning tool for virtual patients: Design-based research study’, JMIR Medical Education, [online]. Available at: https://www.jmir.org/2013/2/e18/ (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

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Cervantes, R., Perez, P., Ganem, L., et al. (2019) ‘The use of virtual reality and simulators for emergency management training increases employees' role awareness, commitment, and information retention, while helping companies to stay compliant’, Offshore Mediterranean Conference and Exhibition | OnePetro, [online]. Available at: https://www.onepetro.org (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Conelius, J., Owen, N.S., Reynolds, S. (2023) ‘Simulation Modalities’ in: Kutzin, J.M., Waxman, K., Lopez, C.M., Kiegaldie, D. (eds) ‘Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Nursing’, Springer Nature Link, Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Nursing. [online]. Available at: https://doi-org.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/10.1007/978-3-031-31090-4_2 (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

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De Angeli, A., McCaffery, M., Stone, E. (2019) ‘Healthcare education with virtual-world simulations’, Health Informatics Journal, [online]. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1460458218805009 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Diaz-Navarro, C., Hadfield, A. and Pierce, S. (2014) TALK for clinical debriefing, Available at: https://www.talkdebrief.org/startingtotalk (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

Diaz-Navarro, C., Hadfield, A. and Pierce, S. (2022) TALK: A Tool for Structured Clinical Debriefing, Available at: https://learninghub.nhs.uk/Resource/8094/Item (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

Diaz-Navarro, C., Jones, B., Stafford, J., Mitra, S., Catrin Cook, S., & Hawker, C. (2023) A66 Standardizing debriefing in Wales: the Triangular Approach: International Journal of Healthcare Simulation.3.(1). from 10.54531/KZWG5509 (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

Digital Health Education Collaboration (2019) ‘Health professions’ digital education: Review of learning theories in randomized controlled trials’, Journal of Medical Internet Research, [online]. Available at: https://www.jmir.org/2021/7/e17398/ (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) (no date) Event recordings, [online]. Available at: https://heiw.nhs.wales/education-and-training/simulation-based-education/event-recordings/ (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) (2022) All Wales Simulation-Based Education and Training Strategy for the Healthcare Workforce: The vision for the next five years: 2022 – 2027, [online]. Available at: https://heiw.nhs.wales/files/all-wales-simulation-strategy-mg-draft-6pdf/ (Accessed: 30 June 2025).

Health Education England (HEE) (2018) National Framework for Simulation Based Education (SBE), [online]. Available at: https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/National%20framework%20for%20simulation%20based%20education.pdf (Accessed: 30 June 2025).

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Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) (2022) All Wales Simulation-Based Education and Training Strategy for the Healthcare Workforce: The vision for the next five years: 2022 – 2027, [online]. Available at: https://heiw.nhs.wales/files/all-wales-simulation-strategy-mg-draft-6pdf/ (Accessed: 30 June 2025).

Health Education England (HEE) (2018) National Framework for Simulation Based Education (SBE), [online]. Available at: https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/National%20framework%20for%20simulation%20based%20education.pdf (Accessed: 30 June 2025).

Health Education England (HEE) (2020) A national vision for the role of simulation and immersive learning technologies in health and care, [online]. Available at: https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/National%20Strategic%20Vision%20of%20Sim%20in%20Health%20and%20Care.pdf (Accessed: 30 June 2025).

Health Education England (HEE) (2022) M-Care: Mixed Realities for Health and Social Care Education, [online]. Available at: https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/m-care?nodeId=9235 (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

Healthcare Readers (2025) Simulation in Healthcare: A Medical Training Revolution, [online]. Available at: https://healthcarereaders.com/insights/simulation-in-healthcare (Accessed: 30 June 2025).

Henderson, A., Win, S., Barr, M., et al. (2020) ‘The effectiveness of virtual simulation in improving student nurses' knowledge and performance during patient deterioration: A pre and post-test design’, ScienceDirect, [online]. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738399119302954 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Heselgrave, S., Cook, L., Roberts, J., and Bilgin, A. (2021) ‘Advancing clinical reasoning in virtual patients – development and application of a conceptual framework’, PMC Journal of Medical Education, [online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7840205/ (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) (2021) Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice®, [online]. Available at: https://www.inacsl.org/healthcare-simulation-standards (Accessed: 30 June 2025).

Jaye, P., Thomas, L. and Reedy, G. (2015) ‘“The Diamond”: a structure for simulation debrief’, The clinical teacher, 12(3), pp. 171–175 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.12300 (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

Knight, P. et al. (2018) ‘Mitigating Latent Threats Identified through an Embedded In Situ Simulation Program and Their Comparison to Patient Safety Incidents: A Retrospective Review’, Frontiers in pediatrics, 5, pp. 281–281 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2017.00281 (Accessed: 24 June 2025).

Kolbe, M., Grande, B. and Spahn, D.R. (2015) ‘Briefing and debriefing during simulation-based training and beyond: Content, structure, attitude and setting’, Best practice & research. Clinical anaesthesiology, 29(1), pp. 87–96 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpa.2015.01.002 (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

Krishnamurthy, K., Selvaraj, N., Gupta, P., Cyriac, B., et al. (2022) ‘Benefits of gamification in medical education’, Clinical Anatomy, [online]. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ca.23916 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Kyaw Tun, J., Alinier, G., Tang, J., Kneebone, R. (2015) ‘Redefining simulation fidelity for healthcare education’, Medical Education, 49(12), pp. 1185–1197 [online]. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/medu.12806 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Lee, J., Leech, M., Jacobson, K. (2020) ‘Effective virtual patient simulators for medical communication training: A systematic review’, Medical Education, [online]. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/medu.14187 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Marhar, F. (2024) The best podcasts on healthcare simulation, [online]. Available at: https://simzine.news/sim-in-short-en/the-best-podcasts-on-healthcare-simulation/ (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

Miller, J.E., Jeng, D.Y., Shearman, M.S., et al. (2020) ‘Digital simulation improves, maintains, and helps transfer health-care providers' neonatal resuscitation knowledge’, Frontiers in Pediatrics, [online]. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2020.00393/full (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Morgenstern, J., McManus, D., Cabañas, J.G., et al. (2019) ‘Cognitive transfer of spatial awareness states from immersive virtual environments to reality’, ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, 16(3), pp. 1–15 [online]. Available at: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3302529 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

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The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2024) Simulated practice learning [online]. Available at: https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/guidance/supporting-information-for-our-education-and-training-standards/simulated-practice-learning/ (Accessed: 30 June 2025).

O’Driscoll, F. (2024) Clinical simulation an opportunity to evaluate digital health technologies [online]. Available at: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/254575/clinical-simulation-opportunity-evaluate-digital-health/ (Accessed: 30 June 2025).

Ordu, M. et al. (2021) ‘A novel healthcare resource allocation decision support tool: A forecasting-simulation-optimization approach’, The Journal of the Operational Research Society, 72(3), pp. 485–500 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01605682.2019.1700186 (Accessed: 24 June 2025).

Patel & CAE Healthcare (2020) Simulation Debrief by CAE Healthcare, Podcast, Available at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/simulation-debrief-by-cae-healthcare/id1508164682 (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

Pearse, M. (2015) The Importance of Debriefing in Learning and What That Might Look Like in the Classroom, [online]. Available at: https://corwin-connect.com/2015/11/the-importance-of-debriefing-in-learning-and-what-that-might-look-like-in-the-classroom/ (Accessed: 30 June 2025).

Plackett, R., Kassianos, A., Kambouri, M., et al. (2020) ‘Online patient simulation training to improve clinical reasoning: A feasibility randomised controlled trial’, BMC Medical Education, 20(1), 1–11 [online]. Available at: https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-020-05685-3 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Secheresse, T., Lima, L. and Pansu, P. (2021) ‘Focusing on explicit debriefing for novice learners in healthcare simulations: A randomized prospective study’, Nurse education in practice, 51 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2020.102914 (Accessed: 1 July 2025).

Verkuyl, M., Betts, L., Sivaramalingam, S. (2019) ‘Nursing students’ perceptions using an interactive digital simulation table: A usability study’, Journal of Medical Internet Research, [online]. Available at: https://www.jmir.org/2019/3/e11529/ (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

THE Campus (2025) ‘How to use digital simulations to prepare students for future careers’, THE Campus, [online]. Available at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/how-use-digital-simulations-prepare-students-future-careers (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Limitations of digital simulation

A Literature Review of Barriers and Opportunities Presented by Digitally Enhanced Practical Skill Teaching and Learning in Health Science Education (2022) Journal of Health Science Education, [online]. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10872981.2022.2068210 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Breaking Barriers with Simulation-Enhanced Interprofessional Education (2021) Nursing Clinics, 56(3), pp. 389-397. Available at: https://www.nursingclinics.com/article/S0029-6465(21)00010-1/fulltext (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Lambert, K.E., Leeson, B.G., Nilsson, S.M. and Oliver, N.G. (2025) ‘Risk assessment processes within healthcare simulation centers: A scoping review’, Teaching and Learning in Nursing, doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2025.04.023.

Potential Barriers to the Implementation of Computer-Based Simulation in Pharmacy Education: A Systematic Review (2020) Journal of Pharmacy Education, 84(2), pp. 138-145. Available at: https://www.jphied.org/doi/10.5688/ajpe7564 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Innovation in Medical Education: Advantages and Limitations (2021) Journal of Medical Education Innovations, [online].

Debriefing

‘Gamification can be a useful learning methodology for achieving all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy’. (2021) Excerpt from Learning in the Digital Era, Daryl John Powell.

‘Serious Games are practical instructional educational tools useful for people to learn Lean that allowed them to reach higher order Bloom Taxonomy levels. Lean learning is guided by practical and objective elements, often instructed by active learning methods’. (2021) Excerpt from Learning in the Digital Era, Daryl John Powell.

Debriefing the Interprofessional Team in Medical Simulation (2019) Europe PMC, [online]. Available at: https://europepmc.org/article/med/29974207 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Debriefing Virtual Simulation Using an Online Conferencing Platform: Lessons Learned (2020) Libre PDF, [online]. Available at: [Insert link if available] (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Effectiveness of Debriefing Methods for Virtual Simulation: A Systematic Review (2020) ScienceDirect, [online]. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876139917303602 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Exploring Debriefing Combinations After a Virtual Simulation (2020) ScienceDirect, [online]. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876139920303701 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best PracticeTM The Debriefing Process (2016) Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 12(6), pp. 1-7. Available at: https://www.clinicalsimulation.com (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Journal of Medical Internet Research (2020) ‘Virtual Patient Simulations in Health Professions Education: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by the Digital Health Education Collaboration’, Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(1), e14962. Available at: https://www.jmir.org/2020/1/e14962/ (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Systematic Review of Clinical Debriefing Tools: Attributes and Evidence for Use (2019) BMJ Quality & Safety, 28(9), pp. 811–820. Available at: https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/28/9/811 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Toews, A.J., Martin, D.E. and Chernomas, W.M. (2021) ‘Clinical debriefing: A concept analysis’, Journal of clinical nursing, 30(11–12), pp. 1491–1501. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15636 (Accessed: 24 June 2025).

Virtual Gaming Simulation: Exploring Self-Debriefing, Virtual Debriefing, and In-person Debriefing (2018) ScienceDirect, [online]. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876139917303602 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Witeck, G.R., Searle, M., and Powell, D.J. (2021) ‘Bloom Taxonomy, Serious Games and Lean Learning: What Do These Topics Have in Common?’, in Learning in the Digital Era, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, pp. 308–316. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92934-3_31 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Langan, L. et al. (2025) ‘Inclusive pedagogy in online simulation‐based learning in undergraduate nursing education: A scoping review’, Journal of advanced nursing, 81(2), pp. 591–606. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.16284 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).

Fischer, F. et al. (2022) ‘Representational scaffolding in digital simulations – learning professional practices in higher education’, Information and learning science, 123(11/12), pp. 645–665. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-06-2022-0076 (Accessed: 3 June 2025).