The Evolving Role of Simulation in Healthcare

The healthcare landscape is constantly evolving, demanding innovative approaches to clinical practice, education, and research. In this highly complex, adaptive environment, simulation has emerged as a powerful tool, capable of supporting transformations in the way we learn, deliver care, and improve patient safety.

Simulation is traditionally viewed as a controlled, dynamic training environment where healthcare professionals can hone their skills, and explore complex situations away from the clinical frontline. It has been used as a tool for education for many hundreds of years, but one of the collateral benefits of the COVID-19 pandemic was the recognition that simulation transcends mere replication of real-world scenarios in training environments or in-situ in clinical areas. Simulation was quickly deployed in the form of walk-through talk-through sessions to define new patient pathways, test novel technologies, and rapidly develop new procedures for the management of a high-consequence infectious disease where supplies of personal protective equipment were limited and treatments untested.

From high-fidelity manikins mimicking physiological responses to tabletop simulations of major incidents and immersive virtual or augmented reality environments, the scope of simulation is vast and ever-expanding. This Research Topic on Simulation in Healthcare aims to be a vibrant platform for sharing knowledge and advancing the field of healthcare simulation, and we are particularly interested in submissions that highlight novel interventions moving away from the more traditional simulation studies in healthcare.

We welcome contributions that highlight the diverse areas in which simulation can improve practice, workforce wellbeing, and patient safety. We are interested in commentary submissions as well as systematic or scoping reviews and empirical work that presents quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research, examples include:

• Original studies that explore the impact of simulation on various aspects of healthcare, including novel approaches to technical skills development, team training, the role of standardized patients, and analysis of work systems
• Innovative applications of simulation in different healthcare settings and specialties, from medical and nursing education to mass casualty situations and public health preparedness. We particularly welcome contributions from low to middle income settings.
• Research focusing on cost-effective simulation where simple, easy to replicate, environmentally friendly solutions to embedding simulation in practice are presented
• Reviews exploring the role of any simulation modality in enhancing patient care and safety, healthcare education, and system design.
• Technical papers discussing the latest developments in simulation technology, including artificial intelligence, haptics, and virtual reality, and their potential to shape the future of healthcare training
• Interdisciplinary papers fostering collaboration between educators, researchers, clinicians, technologists, patients, and other stakeholders to build a robust and inclusive simulation community.
• Non-empirical offerings – such as opinion pieces or debates on key issues around the use of simulation in healthcare.