Use of global rating scales and checklists in clinical simulation-based assessments: a protocol for a scoping review

Assessment in health sciences education remains a hotly debated topic, with measures of competency and how to determine them in simulation-based assessments enjoying much of the focus. Global rating scales (GRS) and checklists are widely used within simulation-based education but there is a question regarding how the two strategies are used within clinical simulation assessment. The aim of this proposed scoping review is to explore, map and summarise the nature, range and extent of published literature available relating to the use of GRS and checklists in clinical simulation-based assessment.

We will follow the methodological frameworks and updates described by Arksey and O'Malley, Levac, Colquhoun and O'Brien, and Peters, Marnie and Tricco et al and will report using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). We will search PubMed, CINAHL, ERIC, Cochrane Library, Scopus, EBSCO, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, the DOAJ and several sources of grey literature. We will be including all identified sources published in English after 1 January 2010 that relate to the use of GRS and/or checklists in clinical simulation-based assessments. The planned search will be conducted from 6 February 2023 to 20 February 2023.

An ethical waiver was received from a registered research ethics committee and findings will be disseminated through publications. The overview of literature the produced will help to identify knowledge gaps and inform future research on the use of GRS and checklists in clinical simulation-based assessments. This information will be valuable and useful for all stakeholders that are interested in clinical simulation-based assessments.