Competency Assessment in Simulation-Based Training: Educational Framework and Optimal Strategies

Abstract

Simulation-based training can be used to evaluate communication and teamwork competencies among interdisciplinary teams and promote healthcare quality and safety (Rosen MA et al., Sim Health Care 3:33–41, 2008; Guise J et al., Sim Healthcare. 3:217–223, 2008; Goffman D et al., Semin perinatol. 37:140–142, 2013). Simulation has been used as an instructional design method to teach medical students, residents, and subspecialty fellows (Medical simulation in medical education: results of an AAMC survey. /https://www.aamc.org/download/259760/data/medical simulation in medical education an aamc survey.pdfS; Deering S et al., Semin Perinatol. 37:143–14, 2013). It is also recognized as a method of evaluating professional competence for practicing physician (Sidi A et al., J Grad Med Educ 489–494, 2014; Chiu M et al., Can J Anesth. 63:1357–1363, 2016). Simulation-based training is most effective when it is designed to successfully capture the knowledge, skills, and clinical reasoning that underlie expected behavior within the framework of the competencies assessed. Accurate and objective evaluation of trainee performance depends on the assessment method and the assessment tools selected. In this chapter, we will review a commonly recommended framework for evaluating the quality of an assessment tool. We end the chapter with examples of checklists and global rating scales, two common assessment tools that can be used during simulation-based training to determine if the expected clinical and procedural performance outcomes for learners have been achieved.