Journal Club: Simulation Safety Pledge

Simulation Safety was the topic of a recent Journal Club hosted by Darin Abbey, RN at the Centre for Interprofessional Clinical Simulation (CISCL) The journal club is a monthly event to engage in critical discussion of emerging practices related to clinical simulation education.

The session included discussion of each element of the Simulation Safety Pledge. Prior to the meeting, Darin asked the group to read the Pledge and consider the following:

• Describe a safety hazard that you can imagine, or that your simulation program has experienced, which adherence to this pledge would mitigate.
• What specific measures do you imagine your simulation program would have to undertake to fulfill the intention of this pledge item?

This format resulted in thoughtful discussion and examination of each item of the pledge.  The group shared their current practices and reflected on possible changes to their practices and how to engage their teams. The journal club is recorded and posted on the CICSL webpage. This journal club has covered lots of great topics; the link is here . They also discussed a safety checklist for in situ drills. This tool is on the FHSS website.

After listening to the journal club, we wanted to clarify some aspects of the the simulation safety pledge. There were some good discussions about whether certain items were applicable to every setting, as well as challenges to implementation and 100% compliance.  It was evident that the group examined each item seriously,  and they were open to expressing concerns about sections of the pledge. This is a positive thing; it would not be helpful to nod politely and accept the pledge without question! We offer the pledge as a list of sound practices, not as a command to be followed. This as a living document, and we are eager to hear input about revisions and additions.

We are so grateful to Darin for leading this discussion and for sharing with the FHSS. We look forward to further collaborations!