The Essentials of Debriefing and Reflective Practice

Debriefing is a specific type of reflective learning. Debriefing follows an experience, with the goal of taking meaningful learning away from the experience. It is often used following a simulation-based educational experience but the same techniques can be used following actual clinical care. Early studies in simulation suggest that learning does not occur in simulation-based education in the absence of debriefing. There are phases of a debriefing discussion and specific conversational strategies that are used to engage learners and provoke engaging learning discussions. Standards of practice call for facilitators with specialized training and a debriefing method that is theory based.