Simulation-Based Assessments in Health Professional Education: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background The utilization of simulation in healthcare education has grown significantly in the last 20 years. Although typically used for training purposes, simulation is increasingly used for assessing technical skills needed in clinical practice. Despite its common use, there has been no investigation into the full potential of simulation in healthcare education. This study aims to explore the scope of simulation-based assessments in healthcare education. Methods Using the Joanna Briggs Institute’s scoping review methodology, we searched Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, WOS, CINAHL, APA PsycINFO, and Embase databases and two well-known simulations in medical education, Clinical Simulation in Nursing and Simulation in Healthcare, from 2021 to 2023. We also checked the reference lists of review articles. We imported, deduplicated, and screened the search results in EndNote X20. We included 49 studies that met our criteria and analyzed them descriptively and narratively. Results We specified the target groups and applications for simulation-based assessment in healthcare professional education. We also identified challenges, advantages, and disadvantages, as well as the necessary conditions for conducting such assessments. Conclusions Simulation-based evaluation is beneficial for health education in evaluating competence and safety. Nevertheless, limitations such as high costs and low realism should be taken into account. Stakeholders and educators must study these concerns, establish standards for evaluation and sampling, and conduct planning and evaluation before using these methods.