Development and Expert-Based Content Validation of an OBGYN Simulation Debriefing Checklist for Obstetric Crisis Team-Training

Debriefing is the core educational component of obstetric crisis simulation training. High-quality structured debriefing improves trainees' clinical judgment, technical performance and non-technical team skills. However, few specialty-specific debriefing checklists are tailored for obstetric-gynaecology emergency scenarios. General simulation debriefing tools often omit obstetric-specific safety concerns, maternal-focused communication and obstetric team-human-factor challenges.

This study aimed to develop an Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OBGYN)-specialized simulation debriefing checklist for obstetric crisis team-training, through three steps: (1) generation of an initial item pool; (2) expert panel evaluation of item relevance; and (3) revision and finalization based on expert ratings and comments.

The checklist was developed following Kern's six-step curriculum-development framework, guided by the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) simulation standards and the Promoting Excellence and Reflective Learning in Simulation (PEARLS) debriefing model. An item pool was generated from obstetric simulation literature, national obstetric competency frameworks and existing debriefing instruments. Eight obstetric clinicians with at least 3 years of simulation-facilitation or medical-education experience rated item relevance on a 5-point scale; items with an Item-level Content Validity Index (I-CVI) below 0.78 were removed or revised, and the Scale-level Content Validity Index-average (S-CVI/Ave) was computed. Qualitative expert suggestions were collected for item revision.

The initial item pool contained 32 items. After expert evaluation and revision, the final checklist retained 24 items across four domains: technical clinical performance, obstetric-specific communication, team-based human factors, and simulation-facilitation reflection, with an S-CVI/Ave of 0.91. Experts confirmed good specialty relevance and practical feasibility, including use in low-cost table-top drills.

This newly developed OBGYN crisis-simulation debriefing checklist provides evidence of satisfactory content validity based on expert judgement, offering a standardized specialty-specific instrument for structuring and evaluating post-simulation debriefing. Further psychometric testing, including inter-rater reliability and usability research among front-line simulation facilitators, is recommended.