Telementoring for remote simulation instructor training and faculty development using telesimulation

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Simulation Technology
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• High-quality medical care relies on simulation-based training, which often faces barriers related to equipment and expertise access.
• Technology offers solutions for connecting educators to simulation training, overcoming geographical limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the effectiveness of remote simulation faculty development in Latvia.
• To assess the use of telesimulation and telementoring with an experienced debriefer located remotely in the USA.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, simulation-based longitudinal study over 16 months.
• Remote instructor (USA) and local instructor (Latvia) cofacilitated sessions via teleconferencing, with gradual responsibility transfer.
• Debriefing quality was assessed using the Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare (DASH) forms (student and instructor versions).

Main Results:

• Eight simulation sessions were cofacilitated.
• Instructor-assessed debrief quality (DASH-IV) remained stable (89 to 87).
• Student-perceived debrief quality (DASH-SV) significantly decreased (median 89 to 80, p=0.005) as local instructor responsibility increased.

Conclusions:

• Telementoring and telesimulation can facilitate high-quality debriefing in medical simulation.
• Student-perceived quality declined during the transition to local instructors, highlighting the need for continued remote support.
• This approach shows potential for building local simulation expertise and ensuring the sustainability of high-quality training.