Guiding, Intermediating, Facilitating, and Teaching (GIFT): A Conceptual Framework for Simulation Educator Roles in...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare simulation
• Medical education
• Debriefing strategies

Background:

• Simulation debriefing frameworks offer general guidance but lack specific strategies for challenging situations.
• Debriefers often face difficulties implementing broad recommendations in complex scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the roles and strategies simulation debriefers use when facing challenges.
• To identify specific approaches for effective post-simulation debriefing.

Main Methods:

• Ten experienced simulation educators participated in three simulated debriefings.
• Think-aloud interviews were conducted before and after simulations.
• A constructivist grounded theory approach was used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Four distinct debriefer roles were identified: guiding, mediating, facilitating integration, and teaching.
• Each role involved specific goals and strategies.
• Maintaining a psychologically safe learning environment was a universal goal across all roles.
• These findings led to the conceptualization of the GIFT debriefing framework.

Conclusions:

• Debriefers enact multiple roles with distinct strategies during post-simulation debriefing.
• Findings can inform professional development and mentorship programs for debriefing.
• This research is applicable to both simulation-based education and broader healthcare settings.