Self-debriefing in healthcare simulation: An integrative literature review

Debriefing is an essential component of simulation-based education. In-person, facilitator-led debriefing may not always be practical for newer forms of simulation, such as individual virtual simulations. Self-debriefing addresses the issue of practicality, but evidence of implementation and design are unknown. The aims of this review were to explore the use and design of self-debriefing in healthcare simulation and to identify to what extent self-debriefing found in the literature align with the INACSL Standards of Best Practice for debriefing.

Integrative review.

Peer-reviewed studies indexed within CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ERIC, Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson), Education Source, and Academic Search Premier databases.

A comprehensive database search was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. The INACSL Standard of Best Practice: Simulation Debriefing was used as a framework for analysis. Ten articles were appraised and analyzed for this review.

Alignment to best practice standards and presence of required criteria varied in self-debriefing designs. Self-debriefs used with graduate-level learners and self-debriefs with higher alignment to standards showed equivalent performance gains when compared to instructor-led debriefs. None of the studies measured reflection capacity despite it being a recommendation.

Findings indicate that well-designed self-debriefing provides equivalent outcomes to instructor-led debriefing. Best practice recommendations, such as promoting reflection, are underexplored in self-debriefing research.