Simulation and continuous education. Present and future intersection points

In a constantly evolving world, the training and development of people is a key piece for both personal and professional growth and success. However, the traditional theoretical learning approach can be limited in effectively preparing us for the real challenges presented in the world of work, especially when we talk about competency-based training.

In this context, simulation is a methodology that is revolutionizing how professionals are trained, providing them with immersive experiences in a controlled and safe environment for them. 

In this blog post, we will demonstrate the power of simulation in lifelong learning and how it can make a difference in the learning experience..

We will discover how this methodology stimulates active participation, fosters informed decision-making, and strengthens the skills needed to face challenging scenarios.

Get ready to use simulation as a catalyst for transformative learning. Join us on this journey and discover how this methodology is revolutionizing the way we train!

Some particularities of simulation methodology and their impact on continuous training

An approach to the concept

As a methodology, simulation opens up a diversity of options for continuing professional education. According to version 2.1 of the Healthcare Simulation Dictionary published by the Society for Simulation Healthcare (2020:44), simulation is conceived as:

• “A technique that creates a situation or environment allowing persons to experience a representation of a real event for the purpose of practice, learning, evaluation, testing, or to gain understanding of systems or human actions.
• “A pedagogy Using one or more typologies to promote, improve, or validate a participant's progression from novice to expert.”.

As simulation has become widely used in healthcare organizations and in the initial and ongoing training of healthcare professionals, it has expanded to other fields in the last 30 years., adapting, expanding, and perfecting its basic ingredients. Your learning outcomes have been contrasted, although there is still a long way to go to identify their full potential and the impact their effects can have on the day-to-day operations of organizations. 

To make himself“

This is a generated reality ad hoc in which professionals immerse themselves in an experience as realistic as possible, and which we ask them to confront with all the competencies they already possess, plus those they may have acquired in prior specialized training. 

In simulation, unlike other strategies like role-playing or the case method, the participant does not play any assigned or created role, but rather plays “himself” and is expected to act according to their decisions, strategies, skills, attitudes, etc. 

Successes and errors, all prepared to learn

Possibly, exposing yourself to other professional colleagues or members of your own team to perform a certain action, with everyone observing what happens, is not a particularly pleasant activity that we wish to undertake. Although we hope to succeed in our performance, it's possible that there may be errors or areas for improvement that other participants and facilitators will detect. 

Simulation addresses errors not as a lack or dysfunction, but as an element to observe with curiosity, with the goal of generating learning and reorienting professional practice, if necessary. But simulation also focuses on successesLearning through success) with the objective of valuing, consolidating, and expanding them so that the professional can repeat and perfect them in their day-to-day work.  

Three key moments

International standards confirm the need for all simulation experiences to comprise 3 key moments:

• Briefing. This refers to the initial moment of the session in which the facilitator aims to create an environment of psychological and emotional safety so that the simulation participant is willing to face the designed situation. It is a crucial moment as the learning opportunities that the group of participants will extract from the simulation and subsequent reflection largely depend on it.
• Simulation. This is the moment of action, the time when the participant acts in response to the designed situation. 
• Post-simulation Debrief. It is arguably the key moment of the entire simulation experience. After the action, both participants and observers delve into analysis and reflection on what happened. How decisions were made, how the performance was evaluated, what aspects can be improved, what actions could be taken in the future, etc., are just some of the focal points of this part of the simulation session. 

It is, in short, a prepared triad for make the participant shine, both during the simulation and, afterwards, in the transfer to their work practice.

The design of simulation experiences in continuing education

The design of simulation-based learning experiences begins with identifying a specific need that arises in the daily work of an organization, team, or professional. This need can be identified prescriptively (i.e., top-down) or collaboratively (bottom-up), and its origin is multifaceted. Among others:

• Testing a new process or protocol before putting it into practice, and the impact it would have on the people who have to implement it. 
• The implementation of an innovation that professionals should know and/or apply in their day-to-day lives.
• The possibility of increasing efficiency in any of the production, quality, maintenance, logistics, etc. core areas...
• Professional development in strategic competencies for the organization (from leaders to technicians). 
• Onboarding new members or changing the role or new function of some who are already serving on it (new team leaders, opening of new branches, new roles to assume, etc.).
• The existence of any area for improvement in the work climate, management, or team cohesion. 

Each of these stimuli it can be turned into an input to build a simulation experience. The case design, the scenarios created, the dialogues that emerge, or the prepared action are articulated to generate learning in the participants. Learning that, in retrospect, we hope will increase and consolidate, in some sense or to a different extent, in daily professional practice. It is true: it is a major challenge that simulation has devised as a roadmap.  

Simulation provides a markedly experiential aspect where professionals can experiment, test, and manipulate without fear of error, as there are no negative consequences for third parties (a client, a project manager, an HR manager, a team collaborator who, for the objectives of the simulation, are often actors that act as levers for action). In the case of simulations using virtual simulators, the participant makes decisions in an environment also created ex officio These have consequences and generate results from which further reflection will be developed. 

Simulation experiences can be implemented with both natural teams and professionals who are part of different organizations and teams, whether or not they are from the same field. In turn, this training is implemented in various ways: it can take place on-site or in specialized simulation classrooms and centers (such as, for example, CISARC – Manresa University – UVic-UCC or the simulation classrooms that the University of Barcelona has in different faculties and centers), each offering its advantages. 

Importance of teacher training

In this methodology, it is crucial to ensure the participation of teachers who are familiar with the concepts, principles, and dynamics of simulation, as well as with pedagogical best practices that facilitate meaningful learning and safe collaborative environments that prepare students for present and future professional challenges. Therefore, teacher training in these types of methodologies is necessary.

Trained educators understand the importance of establishing clear rules, fostering effective communication among participants, and promoting a climate of trust. Their ability to manage time, encourage active participation, and adapt to individual student needs contributes greatly to the success of the simulation methodology in continuous and/or ongoing training.

Simulation and continuous training: common interests 

Simulation and continuous training share an increasingly consolidated relationship. Both weave distinct points of intersection that, in all likelihood, enrich each other. We will discuss three of the many possible points: 

• The design of is increasingly spreading within organizations interdisciplinary simulation experiences. By realistically assimilating what happens in companies and institutions, creating situations with different professionals from different areas and with different experiences provides a global and team-based vision that solidly supports the transfer of learning in their daily lives. 
• Another area of interest for simulation in continuing education is the development of Transferable skills and soft skills. Difficult to acquire in standard training, simulations offer an opportunity to apply those attitudes, values, beliefs, etc., that make up (and interfere with) the development of non-technical skills. Active listening, responsibility, critical thinking, initiative, and leadership capacity are some of the skills that simulation can help develop by creating a specific professional situation. 

The virtuality and artificial intelligence they are also a point of mutual interest. Virtual environments and tools can offer immersive realism, safe practice with exact replication possibilities, ample adaptation to specific needs, or immediate feedback.

Our institutional commitment

Given the described benefits of the simulation methodology, it is not surprising that its implementation in continued and/or permanent training programs is a strategic bet for both the University of Barcelona and the University of Manresa. 

By adopting simulation as an institutional strategy, we are providing our students with opportunities to develop and train skills and competencies in a practical and immersive way, within safe and controlled environments, which will be required of them as professionals (present and future). Simulation is a teaching methodology that places you in a situation (often extreme, under pressure, stress, uncertainty, and/or risk) very similar, both in terms of technical demands and personal skills, to those you will have to face in the professional practice of a specific profession or work team.

Why this strategic bet on simulation?

1. Simulation accelerates learning because it allows for learning by doing and reflecting on practice. It speeds up learning and consolidates it more quickly.
2. It's a stimulating way to learn because it tests us, challenges us, sometimes not only individually but as a team. It facilitates the transfer of knowledge from theory to practice.
3. Simulation contributes to personal professional improvement and progress because it not only focuses on the concrete development of the case but also facilitates reflection on one's own actions and identifies effective and ineffective behaviors.
4. Simulation is ideal for training work teams because it allows us to focus not only on specific techniques or knowledge but also on the interrelationships between different people or professional profiles. It promotes collaborative learning and growth, both personally and as a team.

With the simulation, both institutions commit to offering quality and innovative learning experiences.  Simulation invites you to act as if in reality but without risks, in a safe environment where mistakes are welcomed and therefore become a valuable source of learning.

Carla Martí
Continuing Education Manager at UManresa Company
University Foundation of Bages

Gemma Mas
Director of Innovation, Quality, and Design
Institute of Lifelong Learning of the University of Barcelona

Núria Serrat
Professor and researcher at the Faculty of Education
University of Barcelona