[Use of simulation-based methodologies for teaching and learning in Portuguese medical schools]

The main purpose of medical simulation is for students and healthcare professionals to learn, individually or as team members. A questionnaire was developed on the use of medical simulators or simulation-based techniques applied to Medicine, and sent to the directors of all medical schools in Portugal (n = 7). The aim was to contribute to a better understanding of teaching through the use of simulation applied to Medicine. In the curricular year of 2006-07 all medical schools used simulators, or techniques of medical simulation, in their pre-graduate training in Medicine. A small number of other initiatives in pre-and post-graduate medical training were also reported. Despite these activities, there is still a large potential for expansion of simulation-based teaching methodologies in Portuguese medical schools. The growing number of students admitted to medical courses, together with the increase in medico-legal conflicts, leads to a need for curricular developments and adjustments in teaching methodologies.