Education
A Survey of Simulation Fellowship Programs

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Abstract

Background

A number of specialized educational programs (i.e., simulation fellowships) have been developed, but their characteristics are not well known.

Objective

We studied the characteristics of existing simulation fellowship programs.

Methods

Fellowships were identified and characteristics determined from public sources and direct survey.

Results

Seventeen fellowships were identified. The sponsoring academic unit was emergency medicine in 53%, pediatric emergency medicine in 7%, urology in 7%, emergency medicine/anesthesiology in 13%, and interdisciplinary units in 20%. Fifty-nine percent were open to emergency medicine residency graduates, and 12% were open to either anesthesia or emergency medicine graduates, or 12% to physician graduates of any specialty. One fellowship was open to pediatric emergency medicine graduates only and another specifically to surgically trained physicians. Seventy-eight percent indicated that fellows were required to work clinically as part of the fellowship, averaging 19 hours per week. Twenty-seven percent of fellowships were 1 year in length and 13% were 2 years. Common (47%) was the option of a 1- or 2-year fellowship, with those in the 2-year track earning a graduate degree or certificate. Most programs accepted a single fellow each year, and some accepted either one or two. Fellowships reported a high fill rate.

Conclusions

The 17 identified fellowship programs differed greatly in length, sponsoring academic unit, and prerequisites. The majority require their fellows to provide clinical service. Fellowships reported a high fill rate, suggesting substantial interest in simulation among current residents.

Introduction

The use of simulation in medical education has expanded in recent years, with simulation playing an increasing role in both graduate medical education and undergraduate medical education curricula (1). Simulation has been shown to improve medical education by strengthening procedural skills, teamwork, communication, and confidence in medical students and residents 2, 3. Technological advances in simulation and ingenuity have provided valuable educational and assessment tools for students in all fields of medical education 4, 5. Many institutions are now specifically seeking faculty members with specialized knowledge in simulation education to participate in and lead their simulation programs.

To this end, specialized educational programs (i.e., simulation fellowships) have emerged to teach aspiring faculty members the principles of medical simulation and hone their skills as educators within the field. Although a number of such fellowships have formed across the United States, the nature and characteristics of these fellowship programs are not well known, and no comprehensive review exists in the literature.

The goal of this study was to determine the nature and characteristics of existing medical simulation fellowship programs in the United States (US).

Section snippets

Methods

We sought to identify all existing US postgraduate educational training programs in medical simulation. We examined publications in the field, advertisements, mailed flyers, discussions with leaders within the field, and online search engines to find every program possible. We included not only programs that were open to physicians at the post-graduate level, but also interdisciplinary programs that were available to other health care professionals, such as nurses, mid-level providers, and

Results

Seventeen fellowship programs were identified that met inclusion criteria. Unfortunately, not all data elements were available from all programs, which is reflected in the results.

Discussion

We analyzed 17 medical simulation fellowships in the United States. It is very likely that other US programs exist but were not identified, while others may have been in varying stages of development when we conducted our study and have subsequently launched their programs. Although simulation fellowship programs exist in other countries, we choose to limit our study to US programs.

One reason that no centralized listing or clearinghouse of simulation fellowship programs exists is that they are

Conclusions

We identified 17 simulation fellowship programs. Most programs vary between 1 and 2 years in length and require fellows to provide clinical service; emergency medicine academic units are the most common sponsoring unit. Many other characteristics differed widely among programs.

Article Summary

1. Why is this topic important?

  1. The use of simulation in medical education is playing an increasing role in undergraduate and graduate medical education curricula. Nonaccredited simulation fellowship programs have emerged to teach the principles of

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