Hidden in plain sight: Group-based simulation and the risk of misjudging individual competence

Abstract

Background

As nursing education shifts toward competency-based education, programs are expected to provide defensible evidence of each learner’s individual competence. At the same time, simulation is increasingly used to support clinical learning amid constraints related to cohort size, faculty workload, space, and clinical placement availability.

Innovation/Major Points

This article examines validity risks that emerge when group-based simulation is used to support judgments about individual competence. Group dynamics such as social loafing, free riding, conformity, overconfidence, and diffusion of responsibility can distort what faculty are able to observe and assess. These risks may contribute to construct underrepresentation and construct-irrelevant variance when individual-focused rubrics are applied in shared performance contexts.

Implications

Programs should use caution when relying on group simulation for summative competency decisions. Educators need assessment approaches that clarify purpose, distinguish formative feedback from summative documentation, and make individual performance more visible.

Conclusions

Group simulation remains valuable, but competency judgments must be intentionally designed so individual readiness is visible, defensible, and not inferred from group success alone.