Communication content during debriefing in simulation-based medical education: An analytic framework and...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Simulation-Based Learning
• Communication in Healthcare

Background:

• Debriefing is crucial for simulation-based medical education and reflective learning.
• The role of communication content in debriefings is not well understood.
• A framework was developed to analyze communication during debriefings and its link to learning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a category framework for analyzing communication content in medical education debriefings.
• To investigate the relationship between communication patterns and participant learning outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A category framework was developed using deductive and inductive approaches for qualitative content analysis.
• Twenty debriefings were coded using the framework.
• Debriefing communication frequency was correlated with learning outcomes (engagement, satisfaction, individual and team learning success).

Main Results:

• The framework included 9 main and 81 subcategories with good intercoder agreement.
• Advocacy, inquiry, illustration, and confirmation were common communication types.
• Debriefer questions and participant inputs positively correlated with learning outcomes.
• Certain communication types (e.g., apologies, observations, repetition) showed no positive association with learning outcomes.

Conclusions:

• This study offers novel insights into communication content during debriefings in medical education.
• The identified associations between communication content and learning outcomes are key to improving debriefing effectiveness and simulation-based medical education.