– A faculty development program designed for new simulation educators
What is SimBegin®?
SimBegin® is a facilitator training program developed as a collaboration between SAFER simulation center, Laerdal Medical and Laerdal Global Health. The program aims to build competence and confidence in planning, conducting and debriefing a simulation scenario. Ideally suited for healthcare educators and clinical trainers who are new to simulation-based education and reflection-based debriefing.
SimBegin® is a hybrid design, with a mix of e-learning, online workshops and face-to-face workshops. The workshops involve participants of the course working in small groups to increase interaction with faculty and learning.
The program has been well received across different cultures and contexts. It has been introduced in over 20 countries in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia.
Target audience
Medical, nursing, paramedical professionals who want to address clinical and behavioral aspects of performance from undergraduates to practicing clinicians by learning the basics of simulation in healthcare and debriefing.
Accreditation
The SimBegin® program has been through a thorough evaluation process and has been accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd). SimBegin has achieved recognition from one of the oldest and most respected medical educational institutions in the world, and is now eligible for Continuous Personal Development points, CPD points.
SimBegin® program description
SimBegin® Level 1 – Becoming a facilitator
The Level 1 course utilizes self-directed e-learning and online workshops adaptable to fit any learner’s time schedule. Consisting of three modules, this entry level instruction allows medical, nursing, and paramedical professionals learn the basics of simulation in healthcare and debriefing.
Module 1 – E-learning
This module is entirely self-directed and introduces:
- Healthcare Simulation
- Patient Safety
- The Circle of Learning
Estimated time: 2-3 hours
Module 2 – Debriefing workshops
This module combines self-directed e-learning with immersive online workshops with a simulation expert. The module can also be delivered as a face-to-face training:
- Understand how to deliver high-quality, reflection-based and structured debriefings utilising the CORE framework.
Estimated time: 3 workshops with duration of 2-3 hours each
Module 3 – Face-to-face workshops
This module combines self-directed e-learning with practical simulation scenarios:
- Best practice sample videos and facilitator resources
- Plan, brief and debrief scenarios
- Plan implementation of simulation training in own organization
Estimated time: 1 full training day
This course has been awarded 12 CPD points by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
SimBegin® Level 2 – Becoming a mentor
A mentoring program can be added to the level 1 course. Mentoring provides a guided process where the facilitators develop their skills and the quality of their simulations. The mentoring program is based on SAFER’s experiences focusing on areas critical to success for simulation-based training.
The mentoring program consists of 4 workshops and mentoring meetings provided over 12 hours with time between each workshop that allows learners to practice their simulation skills.
Workshops include:
Simulation Fidelity, Simulation Modalities, Simulation for Quality Improvement, Mentoring
This course has been awarded 12 CPD points by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
SimBegin® Level 3 – Becoming course faculty
Level 3 includes an advanced facilitator course, e.g. the EuSim Level 1 course, covering (i) the topics of human factors and patient safety and how to address these in debriefing, and (ii) scenario design to create relevant and realistic scenarios. Level 3 also includes a dedicated Guidance of SimBegin™ which covers a more in-depth session of the aim and value of the SimBegin™ Program and of debriefing. The Guidance of SimBegin consists of two webinars, each lasting 3 hours. The advanced course depends on what course one follows but is normally 2–3 full days.
This course has been awarded 6 CPD points by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
How will the SimBegin® program help you?
Debriefing is the most important part of simulation training and crucial for a successful learning process. Simulation debriefing and post-clinical case debriefings can improve performance across many different medical disciplines, including clinicians, nursing, pharmacists, and even other allied healthcare providers.
We believe the program to be instrumental in facilitating competency-based healthcare education and to improve healthcare systems through simulation training. There are several ongoing research projects investigating the educational and clinical impact of the program. Preliminary results are promising and show that students do more simulation training after they have been SimBegin Level 1 trained. They are also able to perform reflection-based debriefing of good quality. Clinicians describe cultural changes, moving away from a blame-and-shame culture. The halfway report from the SBBC Tanzania project also indicate that training following the SimBegin program implementation contributed to improved patient outcomes.
“ Before taking the SimBegin courses, I had limited knowledge of briefing and debriefing sessions, scenario development, and high-fidelity teaching techniques. Today, I am actively applying the acquired knowledge to confidently teach practical courses to university students and readily integrate the skills I gained in both SimBegin levels (1 & 2) into my teaching. My students have also expressed appreciation for the new teaching methodology I am implementing.
I wholeheartedly believe that these valuable courses would benefit all university faculty. Their impact on teaching methods and student engagement is simply remarkable.
Thank you once again for the incredible learning experience.”
SimBegin® related publications
SimBegin: an evidence-based entry-level facilitator program
Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC)
SBBC halfway report https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/2/255
Healthcare workers’ perceptions on the SBBC: A qualitative study: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/11/1589
Practice, experiences, and facilitators of simulation-based training during one year of implementation in 30 hospitals in Tanzania https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23779608241309447
SimBegin in midwifery education – An introduction to student driven simulation
Examining faculty development through a global lens: current trends and innovations
Testemonials
Dr. Vicky Daudi, Pediatrician, Haydom Lutheran Hospital, Tanzania
Dr. Felix Ambrose Bundala, Reproductive and Child Health Section, Ministry of Health Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Chrilder, Dodoma, Tanzania.
“ . . . , it was very scary, once you get say fresh stillbirth, you rush to hide the case note where matron cannot see it, you think what I will say about it, I have done wrong, what will happen to me and so on, so, it was very difficult times. But nowadays if you get fresh stillbirth, you colleagues call you with love, please come let us sit down and discuss the strength and the areas for improvement.We discuss . . . . identified gaps and make them our objectives for training further that we aim at not repeating the same mistakes tomorrow”.
Contact us
For more information, contact Kjetil Torgeirsen, Manager Extramural Training Programs, kjetil.torgeirsen@safer.net
