Perceptions of higher education health science faculty on debriefing after simulation-based activities

Abstract

Higher education faculty striving to be academically competitive can adopt debriefing after simulation-based activities to help transition health science students from classroom skills to clinical competence. A qualitative study of twelve semi-structured interviews found faculty’s perceptions and experiences of learning how to debrief were initially critical and skeptical; for trialing debriefing, faculty were nervous and felt awkward; for adopting and experimenting debriefing styles, faculty were curious to learn different techniques; and for overall perceptions, faculty felt debriefing was a valuable, immersive teaching style that increased student learning and skill performance. Innovative teaching strategies, like debriefing, promote improved clinical competence.