Difficult Debriefing Toolbox

Journal Club Article: Grant VJ, Robinson T, Catena H, Eppich W, Cheng A. Difficult debriefing situations: A toolbox for simulation educators. Med Teach. 2018 Jul;40(7):703-712. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2018.1468558. Epub 2018 May 23. PMID: 29792100

This article provides educators providing simulation based education (SBE) with a focus on difficult debriefing situations are may become a threat to the psychological safety of the learning environment and may impact learning outcomes. The phenotypes of learner-specific factors may influence the simulation training and debriefing situations.

Difficult Debriefing Situations – a Toolbox

Proactive strategies – use of a pre-simulation briefing to establish clear expectations.

Reactivie strategies – aim to promote an open and respectful dialogue among learners.

  • Name the dynamic
  • Validation
  • Normalisation
  • Generalisation
  • Paraphrasing
  • Broadening
  • Previewing

Additional Resources

The Role of Debriefing in Simulation-Based Learning

Debriefing in Simulation Based Learning

PEARLS Debriefing Tool (Journal Club)