A Critical Review of Simulation-Based Medical Education: An Advanced Opportunity for Next Generation of Medical Education

Abstract

Mistakes made by medical personnel may cause numerous medical errors and accidents, resulting in the death of patients. Therefore, it is imperative to increase overall medical knowledge and to improve the medical skills of caregivers during their education and training. Simulation-Based Medical Education (SBME) is a compelling method for medical training; it not only improves medical education quality and trainee confidence but also reduces medical error risk and keeps patients safe, increasing patients’ satisfaction. SBME provides valuable tools to address realistic, challenging problems in medical education. Multiple factors are carefully evaluated and incorporated into the simulator design to most accurately mimic the real clinical situation and to measure the teamwork competency and learning objectives. Those practices include performance designs, a virtual platform for invasive medical procedures and noninvasive medical operations, psychology simulation, the combination of simulation and live/replayed surgery observation, and platform real force feedback. Simulation is the key element for SBME. The use of simulation in education ensures compliance with the established norms for clinical diagnosis, treatment, and some specific emergency cases. Trainees can repeatedly practice and learn from SBME without the risk of medical accidents. Improving the design of simulators with sufficient fidelity to the clinical events, in reality, will improve the quality of SBME.