Characteristics and Core Curricular Elements of Medical Simulation Fellowships in North America

Introduction: In the past few years there has been rapid growth in the number of medical simulation fellowships for physicians in the United States and Canada, with the objective of producing faculty with expertise and leadership training in medical simulation. Relatively little is known about the collective content and structure of these new fellowship opportunities. We conducted this study to identify a common set of core curricular elements among existing medical simulation fellowships, and to obtain demographic background information on both participants and leadership involved with such fellowships. Methods: A web-based survey was designed and circulated to simulation fellowship directors in the United States and Canada. The survey consisted of questions aimed to identify several aspects of the fellowship curriculum. Results: Of the 29 program directors surveyed, 23 responded (79%). The most commonly listed goals and objectives were to increase skills in simulation curriculum development, simulation operations and training environment setup, research, educational theory, administration, and debriefing. The majority of the fellowship directors (77%) indicated that a set of consensus national guidelines would benefit their fellowship program. Conclusions: Simulation fellowships are experiencing a period of rapid growth. Development of a common set of programmatic guidelines is a widely shared objective among fellowship directors.