Why We Need More Simulation-Based Training in Clinical Ethics and How to Start
Friday, October 13, 2023
5:00 PM – 6:15 PM ET
Location: Essex AB (Fourth Floor)
Simulation-based education is an established evaluation method for assessing clinical skills in healthcare, yet it’s seldom used to teach or evaluate ethics consultation skills. In medicine, it is a standard approach to skills acquisition from breaking bad news to surgical techniques. The desired skills are typically identified based on professional standards or educational goals and a basic competency level is determined. The learner practices these skills, is evaluated by a trained rater, and receives structured feedback often in real time. They may also be able to view a video of themselves and complete a self-evaluation. This presenter will argue simulation-based training should be used more widely in clinical ethics because: 1) ethics consultation has identified competencies and specified skills which can be evaluated; 2) it provides a systematic means of Quality Assessment; and 3) it would be a valuable supplement to the HEC-C process which currently does not evaluate the quality of practical skills. As a start, fellowship programs and academic medical centers should develop simulation-based education for clinical ethicists. For example, fellows already receive instruction on conducting ethics consultation and adding simulation-based education to standardize and enhance their training could improve their skills. Academic medical centers may have simulation facilities which could be used to train their clinical ethicists. Approaches and challenges to simulation-based education and strategies for developing it in different settings will be discussed.