An Exploration of Debriefing in Virtual Simulation

Debriefing is integral to simulation-based learning. There is an extensive body of literature that documents empirical work and established standards of best practices for debriefing in the in-person simulation context. And yet, few resources exist to effectively guide debriefing in virtual simulation. With the advent of virtual simulation, this is a major gap. In this paper, the concept of debriefing in the context of virtual simulation is examined followed by identification of future research initiatives. It is important for us as a simulation community to resist the simple transfer of in-person debriefing models and standards to virtual simulation. Instead, there needs to be a shift in thinking so that we can best capitalize on the unique attributes of virtual simulation. The simulation community and educators must investigate how to best facilitate virtual simulation debriefing so that learning is optimized. We call upon the community to engage in research that develops a body of literature so that virtual simulation debriefing standards of best practices are established.