International overview of high-level simulation education initiatives in relation to critical care.

The use of simulation in health care education has become very topical across all professions and specialties in order to improve patient safety and quality of care. In the last decade, the adoption of more realistic simulation-based teaching methodologies, which serves as a bridge between the acquisition and application of clinical skills, knowledge, and attributes, has been accompanied by the development of a multitude of international and national simulation societies. These serve as important exchange fora for educators, clinicians, researchers, and engineers who desire to learn and share their experience and knowledge around simulation-based education. Several countries have derived their own strategy in order to promote the use of such training methodology. Current key national strategies will be presented in this paper alongside a discussion of their expected impact. Various approaches have been adopted and each has their own place and the potential to be adopted by other nations depending on their political, economic or even geographic context. Within the critical care arena, simulation has generated considerable interest and there is a growing evidence base for its use as a learning and teaching strategy within this environment. A number of critical care-related associations and societies are now recognizing simulation as an appropriate pedagogical approach and acknowledging its potential to improve patient care and clinical outcomes. Its implementation should be carefully considered to ensure that developments are based on current best educational practice to maximize the efficiency of these educational interventions.