Fellowship Accreditation: Experiences From Health Care Simulation Experts

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Simulation
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• The field of health care simulation is expanding, with a growing number of fellowship programs.
• Accreditation efforts for these fellowships are underway, but consensus on the best approach is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore simulation leaders' perspectives on fellowship accreditation.
• To inform the development and maturation of accreditation processes in health care simulation.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study using semistructured interviews with 45 identified simulation leaders.
• Thematic analysis informed by phenomenology and a masked open coding technique.

Main Results:

• Significant discord and lack of consensus regarding simulation fellowship accreditation were reported.
• Perceptions of accreditation value are influenced by program context, resources, and capital.
• Potential impacts include training standardization, workforce considerations, and effects on professional societies.

Conclusions:

• The value of health care simulation fellowship accreditation is highly context-dependent.
• Key considerations include resource variability, balancing standardization with innovation, and implications for professional societies.