Many brands of stage blood are coloured with FD & C Red #40 food colouring. Here are a few points about non-staining blood. Many brands of stage blood, the kind often used in simulations, are coloured with FD & C Red #40 food colouring. This azo dye has a tendency to stain some types of […]

Looking for quick updates on clinical teaching skills? The Centre for Faculty Development at St. Michael’s Hospital offers free, short video-based modules on key clinical teaching skills. Looking for some quick updates and refreshers on clinical teaching skills? The Centre for Faculty Development at St. Michael’s Hospital offers free, short (15-minute) video-based modules on key […]

No matter how a simulation goes, the simulation facilitator can always mine the experience for nuggets of educational gold tied into the objectives!No matter how a simulation goes (assuming no death, dismemberment, or mental trauma), the simulation facilitator can always mine the experience for nuggets of educational gold tied into the objectives!

A good debrief should be set in a safe and positive environment where the facilitator allows the learners to reflect on their areas of improvement in their knowledge, behaviours, and actions.Debriefing is an incredibly valuable learning component of simulation, but can also be challenging. A good debrief should be set in a safe and positive […]

Always make sure that learning objectives are clearly set first and then create the scenario, to avoid confusion about learning outcomes.Always make sure that learning objectives are clearly set first and then create the scenario. It’s often easy to get caught up in the creative side of things and lose track of your main goal(s). […]

When can parametric tests, which are generally more sensitive and more powerful, be used? Find out! Likert scales are a common way to capture data about respondent’s opinion on surveys. These are items in which a respondent chooses an option from a range of values. For example: One to five or one to seven, ‘never’ […]

Follow these steps to create a stomach for Nasogastric flushing or decompression for a manikin. Here is how. Material required: 14 Fr. Nasogastric tube 1000cc empty IV bag Waterproof tape Lubricant Nasogastric strips Method: Simman 2G (this can also be done on Simman 2G or Nursing Anne); Open chest and disconnect stomach tube from easophagus; […]

All you need is a few materials! Got a hair dryer and some vaseline? Here is the full (and basic!) list of materials you will need: Hair dryer; Red make-up cream paint or powder; Clear cucumber mask; Charcoal powder, dirt, or coffee grounds; and Vaseline in a syringe with needle or blunt catheter tip. Here […]

Here is how you can introduce interprofessional simulation into an undergraduate health sciences program: Start small: Introduce one simulation into a course at a time and do it well. Use instructor and learner feedback to improve the simulation for the next group of learners. Consider adapting a uniprofessional simulation for an interprofessional group of learners: […]

Adding a structured reflection immediately after an OSCE can provide information about crucial cognitive and subjective processes that affect student performance behaviours. Adding a structured reflection immediately after an OSCE can provide information about crucial cognitive and subjective processes that affect student performance behaviours. Based on the educator’s goals, reflections can be used to assess […]

A good blood clot can help enhance the physical fidelity of a simulation. Here are a couple of easy ways to simulate a clot. A good blood clot can really help enhance the physical fidelity of a simulation. Here are a couple easy ways to simulate a clot: Get a strawberry. Pull the strawberry apart […]

Research is a team sport. Like for any other sport; roles, responsibilities, expectations and credits of each player should be discussed and clarified right from the beginning of the game. Research is a team sport. Like for any other sport; roles, responsibilities, expectations and credits of each player should be discussed and clarified right from […]

If you are beginning a simulation program, many of your participants, instructors, and support staff will be unfamiliar with simulation. Always abide by the KISS (keep it simple simple!) principle. If you are beginning a simulation program, many (if not all) of your participants, instructors and support staff will be unfamiliar with simulation. Those familiar […]

When choosing a simulation case, it’s essential to identify what learning objectives are being reinforced by the events that occur during the simulation. When choosing a case to be used, it is essential to identify what learning objectives are being reinforced by the events that occur during the simulation. For example, selecting a case whose […]

When developing OSCEs for assessing “soft skills”, it’s been useful to employ an iterative process involving numerous cycles. When developing OSCEs for assessing “soft skills”, it has been useful to employ an iterative process involving numerous cycles that: Conceptualize competence and identify the practice behaviors that represent the competency; Identify issues for potential scenarios that […]

The pre-brief is an essential, though sometimes overlooked, part of any simulation course. The pre-brief is an essential, though sometimes overlooked, part of any simulation course. Not only is it an opportunity for learner/instructor introductions and a review of the course objectives and expectations, but it is also the first opportunity for the instructor to […]

When recreating a simulation for foreign body removal, you want an object that isn’t too easy to remove from the airway manikin. Use your old chicken bones! When recreating a sim for foreign body removal, you want an object that isn’t too easy to remove from the airway manikin (don’t use a standardized patient for […]

One of the most important areas in building a simulation is to start small and focused, and then make small, progressive changes. Keep it simple simple (KISS)! One area that simulation educators continue to have problems with is staying focused on the big picture when building a simulation scenario. Remember to keep things simple and […]

In contrast to traditional teaching environments where the teacher controls the learning, serious games & virtual simulations present a learner-centered approach to education. Simulations, both physical and virtual, offer a viable alternative to practice in an actual operating room, offering residents the opportunity to train until they reach a specific competency level. One of the […]

There’s nothing quite like a good cyst. Especially one filled with caseous pus. Use toothpaste with food coloring inside a glove tip or balloon. There’s nothing quite like a good cyst. Especially one filled with caseous pus. Use toothpaste with food coloring inside a glove tip or balloon! (Author: Lisa Satterthwaite)

As psychological fidelity is a crucial aspect for the participant to “buy-into” simulation, it is vital that the information commonly presented in a real-life case is provided prior to the simulation. As psychological fidelity is a crucial aspect for the participant to “buy-into” simulation, it is vital that the information commonly presented in a real-life […]

Authors: Han-Oh Chung and Joshua Peachey It’s important as a simulation leader to utilize all your tools efficiently to communicate the objectives of the simulation scenario. Just like every simulation is unique, no two debriefs are the same. It is important as a simulation leader to utilize all your tools efficiently to communicate the objectives […]

The sense of smell is powerful in simulation. Just as in real life, odour can plan an important role in diagnosis. The sense of smell is powerful in simulation. Just as in real life, odour can plan an important role in diagnosis. It also help round out your environmental fidelity. Use rubbing alcohol for a […]

An inquiry alone, when posed in a genuinely curious and friendly manner, can be the debriefer’s go-to maneuver when the perfect A-I molecule eludes them. I love the advocacy-inquiry (A-I) method of debriefing. I think it is the gold-standard that we should all strive to achieve when talking to learners in a safe environment. However, […]