One of the great projects that has recently come from collaboration within Education Subcommittees is a series of themed papers on the planning, implementation, and benefits of Simulation-Based Education (SBE). SBE aims to create a supportive, trustful, and creative learning environment and improve patient safety by allowing students to apply theoretical classroom knowledge as practical skills in real-life situations without the risk of real-life consequences.
SBE subcommittee chair Dr. Helena Prior Filipe, with co-chair Dr. Mathys Labushange, led a group of practicing ophthalmologists and educators in defining the need for SBE as a practical strategy for ophthalmic education in clinical settings, highlighting a methodology to improve curriculum design through iterative application and evaluation, explaining practical steps to implement and maintain SBE as an education program, and making recommendations for institutions on how to support a program with varying technological and human resources.
Doctors Helena Prior Filipe, Arturo Grau, Pablo Musa, Ann Sofia Skou Thomsen, John Clements, Andreas Di Luciano, Van Lansingh, Danny Siu-Chun Ng, and Mathys Labuschagne worked together to create the four part series, Good Practices in Simulation-Based Education in Ophthalmology, which was published in the Pan-American Journal of Ophthalmology, Vol. 5, No. 1, October 2023.
In addition, four infographics based on the published series of articles have been published via the University of the Free State in South Africa.
Simulation-Based Education Subcommittee
Chair: Dr. Helena Prior Filipe
Co-Chair: Dr. Mathys Labushange
Members:
Dr. John Clements
Dr. Andreas Di Luciano
Dr. John Ferris
Dr. Arturo Grau Diez
Dr. Daniel Hutter
Dr. Dan Kiage
Dr. Van Lansingh
Dr. Andy McNaught
Dr. Danny Ng
Dr. Filomena Ribeiro
Dr. Ajit Sachdeeva
Dr. George Saleh
Dr. Ann Sofia Skou Thomsen
Dr. David Sousa
Dr. Gordana Sunavic
Dr. Clement Tham
Dr. Jorge Valdez-Garcia
Part I, Initiating and maintaining simulation-based training
Part 1 discusses the need for a practical experience that exists between book learning and interaction with patients. SBE focuses on developmental steps that can exist between learning a skill and performing it in a live environment. This educational step can be adjusted to the asset constraints of any particular institute, though the setup of such a program should be learner focused and provide plenty of time to debrief, review, and give and receive feedback. SBE for ophthalmology programs is especially important given the common need for surgical procedures within the discipline.
Part II, Faculty development for SBE in ophthalmology
Part 2 of the series focuses on the educator within a SBE program and how developing and iterating on such a program benefits staff by bettering their skills in educating, resulting in progressively higher quality implementation of SBE as a specialized learning strategy. The authors discuss Kern’s six-step model (described below) as a dynamic and iterative process for evaluating and creating meaningful faculty development programs.
Part III, Curriculum development for SBE in ophthalmology training programs
In Part 3 of Good Practices in Simulation-Based Education in Ophthalmology, our SBE education subcommittee collaborators further describe a learner-based approach for program development. They chose the five-phase ADDIE approach (analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate) as a complimentary curriculum design model to Kern’s six-step method for continuing education for staff. Part 3 describes how a SBE program can take a learner from concept to practice in a stepped approach with plenty of time for assessment and evaluation. The next step of the program at any point is determined by learning outcomes.
Part IV, Recommendations for incorporating SBE in ophthalmology training programs
The final Part 4 examines best practices for integrating SBE into existing ophthalmology training programs as well as cautions against some plausible pitfalls if implemented poorly. The recommendations also cover issues such as accreditation standards and developing strong cross-national partnerships to help balance local needs and education with benefactor organizations or institutes.
