Successful debriefing - best methods to achieve positive learning outcomes: a literature review

The past several years have seen a dramatic increase in the use of simulation in nursing education. The process of debriefing, or guided reflection, follows these simulation activities. Although facilitated debriefing is recommended in the simulation literature, very few research articles reported results of the effectiveness of debriefing. A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, ERIC, and PsychInfo to identify articles and studies examining simulation and debriefing methods. A limited number of studies were found, that examined traditional faculty facilitated debriefing versus alternate forms of debriefing, debriefing versus no debriefing, and perceptions of debriefing. In most cases, improvement was noted in learners regardless of the debriefing process used. This review is grouped in two sections: (a) studies comparing debriefing strategies and (b) studies examining perceptions of the usefulness of debriefing.