Simulation Fellowships

Abstract

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. Introduction The simulation fellowship training community has commenced efforts toward the development of core curricular elements for healthcare simulation fellowships but has not deployed the same effort to create evaluation strategies to monitor fellows progress. The authors present a current view of simulation fellowship assessment strategies, their relative validity evidence using Kane s theoretical framework, and consider new approaches for defining expertise after training. Methods Fellowship directors in North America were surveyed to identify what competencies are being used by the simulation fellowship community to monitor fellows progress. A follow-up survey was sent to further clarify which tools with published validity evidence were being applied by current programs. Results Of the 61 programs contacted, 44 (72.1%) responded and completed the first survey. Of the 44 programs, 32 (72.7%) reported using some formal assessment of their fellows. The most commonly assessed skill was debriefing. Twenty-three (37.7%) of the 61 programs contacted responded to the secondary survey. These reported that the most common published tool used was the Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare, with only a few other tools mentioned. Conclusions There is a paucity of tools with published validity evidence being used to monitor a fellow s progression. The authors agree that further research needs to focus on creating validated assessment tools to assist in refining fellowship training.