A Systematic Review of Simulation in Otolaryngology Residency Training

Abstract

Objectives: The central premise of our systematic review was to determine: Where does the field of otolaryngology stand in incorporating simulation into residency training? We believe there has been a profound increase in the use of simulation in otolaryngology residency training programs recently, which can be described by a simultaneous increase in the number of otolaryngology simulation-based publications. Study Design: Systematic review. Data Sources: A literature search was performed using the Ovid Medline and PubMed search engines. Methods: Two independent reviewers separately evaluated the 142 articles for relevance using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Sixty-nine articles were included and broken down into number of publications produced per year, country of origin, resident training level targeted, the specific area being simulated, and the fidelity of the simulation. The number of simulation-based publications has increased from 1996 through 2012. The United States has produced 61% of the articles, with another 8 countries also contributing. The simulated areas were temporal bone/ear (28), airway/endoscopy (19), sinus (15), head and neck cancer (2), and esophagus (1). The fidelity of these simulations was also described as high (55 articles, 80%), low (6 articles, 9%), or both (8 articles, 11%). Conclusions: Simulation-based medical education in otolaryngology has grown tremendously since the 1990s with a corresponding increase in the number of publications. We anticipate this trend will continue, as simulation takes an increasingly important role in providing the innovative solutions to meet the challenges of training future otolaryngologists.