Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Aug 2021)
In vivo Simulation-Based Learning for Undergraduate Medical Students: Teaching and Assessment
Abstract
Michail Sideris,1,* Marios Nicolaides,2,* Jade Jagiello,3 Kathrine S Rallis,2 Elif Emin,1 Efthymia Theodorou,2 John Gerrard Hanrahan,4 Rebecca Mallick,5 Funlayo Odejinmi,6 Nikolaos Lymperopoulos,7 Apostolos Papalois,8 George Tsoulfas9 1Women’s Health Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK; 2Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK; 3University College London Hospital, London, UK; 4Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge, UK; 5Princess Royal Hospital, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Haywards Heath, UK; 6Whipps Cross University Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK; 7Guy’s and St Thomas Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; 8Special Unit for Biomedical Research and Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 9Department of Surgery, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Michail SiderisWomen’s Health Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London, Yvonne Carter Building, 58 Turner Street, London, E1 2AB, UKEmail [email protected]: An increasing emphasis on simulation has become evident in the last three decades following fundamental shifts in the medical profession. Simulation-based learning (SBL) is a wide term that encompasses several means for imitating a skill, attitude, or procedure to train personnel in a safe and adaptive environment. A classic example has been the use of live animal tissue, named in vivo SBL. We aimed to review all published evidence on in vivo SBL for undergraduate medical students; this includes both teaching concepts as well as focused assessment of students on those concepts. We performed a systematic review of published evidence on MEDLINE. We also incorporated evidence from a series of systematic reviews (eviCORE) focused on undergraduate education which have been outputs from our dedicated research network (eMERG). In vivo SBL has been shown to be valuable at undergraduate level and should be considered as a potential educational tool. Strict adherence to 3R (Reduce, Refine, Replace) principles in order to reduce animal tissue usage, should always be the basis of any curriculum. In vivo SBL could potentially grant an extra mile towards medical students’ inspiration and aspiration to become safe surgeons; however, it should be optimised and supported by a well-designed curriculum which enhances learning via multi-level fidelity SBL.Keywords: in vivo simulation-based learning, medical simulation, surgical education
