Simulation in Em Training Title: Simulation in Emergency Medicine Training

Simulation provides a range of educational tools which have increasingly been incorporated into emergency medicine (EM) curricula. Standardized patients and some partial task trainers, such as intubation heads, and have been used for decades. More recently, a growing number of computer screen simulations, high-fidelity mannequins, and virtual reality simulators have expanded the number of procedures and conditions which can be effectively simulated. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education transitioned to a competencybased assessment of residency programs in 2001 and included simulation as one method for incorporating the six core competencies into graduate medical education curricula. Over the past decade, numerous peer reviewed publications have promoted simulation as an effective educational tool for each of the core competencies. The advanced technology used to operate many current simulators can erroneously become the focus of efforts to create a simulation-based curriculum. Simulation can most effectively be incorporated into EM curricula through the use of time-proven concepts which start with defining the targeted learners, assessing their general and specific educational needs, defining learning objectives, and selecting the best educational strategy for achieving each Simulation in EM Training 2 objective. In many, but not all, instances simulation can be the best tool for achieving EM learning objectives.