Telesimulation for neonatal resuscitation training

Abstract

Telesimulation uses telecommunication and simulation to educate and assess remote learners, obviating the need for instructors or learners to travel off site. Telesimulation increases access to and convenience of simulation-based education for sites that do not have formal simulation centers, including rural/remote areas. Telesimulation is feasible, improves knowledge and skills, and is favorably received by learners and instructors. In general, telesimulation has been shown to be effective for neonatal resuscitation training, even in low- and middle-income countries. Post telesimulation debriefing, termed teledebriefing, requires many of the skills of in-person debriefing, and teledebriefing can optimize learning by exposing learners to content experts in geographically distant sites or from specialties not available locally. When implementing telesimulation for neonatal resuscitation training, key considerations include program design, telecommunication platform, pre-telesimulation preparation, and teledebriefing. Additional research is needed to identify whether lessons learned during telesimulation translate to clinical practice and impact patient outcomes.