[Evolution of the Application of the Concept of Curricular Integration in Clinical Simulation: A Review Focused on Undergraduate Health Professions].

Abstract

Given the importance of simulation in the undergraduate health curriculum and the fact that how we understand the concepts is an essential element when implementing simulation, this review aims to answer the following question: How has the concept of curriculum integration been applied in clinical simulation in the undergraduate health curriculum?

Material and method: A focused review was conducted with the help of a librarian. Sixteen articles were obtained and analyzed in extenso, given their low number, using as inclusion criteria that they had implementation results in at least two curriculum levels.

Results: Five articles were included in the conceptual synthesis. All the reports analyzed were from North America: three from medical careers, one from technical education, and one from nursing education. A similarity in the articles analyzed is that the curricular insertions reported share the procedural competencies or basic clinical skills with critical thinking in all cases and in a way that is indifferent to the profession being trained. Brauer´s vertical integration concept is a dominant approach to planning complex and progressive simulations in the undergraduate health curriculum.

Discussion: The description and analysis of simulation curriculum integration concepts in health careers and their evaluation and continuous improvement over time are educational research areas requiring further information.