Theoretical foundations of learning through simulation

Health care simulation is a powerful educational tool to help facilitate learning for clinicians and change their practice to improve patient outcomes and safety. To promote effective life-long learning through simulation, the educator needs to consider individuals, their experiences, and their environments. Effective education of adults through simulation requires a sound understanding of both adult learning theory and experiential learning. This review article provides a framework for developing and facilitating simulation courses, founded upon empiric and theoretic research in adult and experiential learning. Specifically, this article provides a theoretic foundation for using simulation to change practice to improve patient outcomes and safety.