Do Fellows and Faculty Share the Same Perception of Simulation Fidelity? A Pilot Study

Simulation is increasingly integrated into graduate medical education, and simulation faculty generally attempt to optimize the fidelity of simulators and simulations on behalf of trainees, so as to approach the realism of actual patient care experiences. As residents and fellows participate as learners in simulations, which faculty design, this investigation sought to address whether fellows and faculty have similar perceptions of fidelity by comparing ratings of 2 types of simulation experiences.

Prospective single-center observational study comparing surveys completed by fellows and faculty participating in multiple simulation sessions during a one-day simulation-based boot camp.

Overall, both the fellows and the faculty provided moderate to high ratings of fidelity for both a technical skill and a teamwork simulation session. Fellows' ratings of an airway skills session were significantly higher than faculty ratings in 4 of 6 questions but similar to faculty ratings of a teamwork scenario session.

Pediatric anesthesia fellows' ratings of simulation fidelity were at least as high as faculty ratings during an annual boot camp, suggesting that faculty in this setting developed simulations that the fellows found to be realistic. Faculty were relatively more critical of the fidelity of a skill session, compared with a teamwork scenario session. If this finding is generalizable, this may reassure faculty designing simulations for fellows. Continued inspection of the entwined nature of fidelity and simulation will help inform more effective learning for this growing educational modality.