PICU simulation: critical care training

David Gaba was one of the first to use simulation in medicine. He defined it as a learning method used to replace or amplify real experiences by guided experiences that evoke or reproduce aspects of the real world in a completely interactive way. In the past, learning process and professional improvement in the healthcare were carried out progressively with the patient himself, so the management of infrequent situations was conditioned to a prolonged training period. Tools such as simulation allow us to carry out this training prior to patient care, providing an experience that was not available before. In the last decade, this methodology has experienced exponential growth, gaining more and more prominence in the field of paediatric intensive care. It has not only been consolidated as a pedagogical method, but also as an essential tool for the acquisition and improvement of technical and non-technical skills in healthcare practice. Nowadays, it's considered a fundamental part of patient safety improvement strategies, allowing to examine care environments and processes, train multidisciplinary teams and practice work algorithms. In this review, we will focus on the usefulness of clinical simulation for the training of PICU staff, especially in non-technical skills such as effective communication and teamwork in critical situations.