van den Hoogen A, Johnston L, Roehr CC, Gözen D, Mannix T, Kühn T, Panas M, Petty J, Schlembach D, Simeone N, Stoniene D, Tency I
Click on the image to read the standard in brief.
Target group
Infants, parents, and families
User group
Parents and families, healthcare professionals, healthcare students, neonatal units, hospitals, health services, and education providers
Statement of standard
All healthcare professionals develop and maintain competencies to provide safe and effective care through regular simulation-based learning.
Rationale
Simulation replaces or amplifies real experiences with guided experiences, often immersive in nature, that evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive fashion. (1) Simulation a useful tool to improve newborn safety, neonatal care professionals performance, and outcomes of neonatal care. (2) It is a superior method to educate healthcare providers, including neonatal nurses and midwives, in a broad range of clinical skills. (3,4) Traditional strategies, such as the “see one, do one, teach one” approach result in uneven skill acquisition and unnecessary harm to patients. (5) The inclusion of simulation in training by both classroom-based, digital or a hybrid approach is valuable with respect to how personnel are educated, trained, and sustained in providing safe clinical care. (1,6–8) Simulation-based team training in neonatal resuscitation has been shown to improve both team and technical performance (9,10)
Benefits
Effective assessment tool for performance and competency of individual clinicians and teams (consensus)
Effective adjunct to actual clinical practice (consensus)
Powerful assessment tool for research and evaluation, concerning organisational practices (patient care protocols) and for the investigation of human factors (consensus)
Efficient tool for changing the culture of healthcare to be more safety oriented, by training clinicians in practices that enact the desired ‘‘culture of safety’’ (consensus)
Facilitated exchange and collaboration between experienced clinicians and healthcare administrators and experts on human factors, organisational behaviour, or institutional change (1)
Components of the standard
Component
Grading of evidence
Indicator of meeting the standard
For parents and family
Parents and families are involved in development, delivery and as recipients of simulation scenarios by healthcare professionals. (11)
B (Moderate quality)
Training documentation
For healthcare professionals
Simulation training is attended by all healthcare professionals. (7)
A (Moderate quality) B (High quality)
Training documentation
For neonatal unit
Repeated simulation sessions; digital, in-person or hybrid are incorporated in the training programmes. (8)
A (Moderate quality) B (High quality)
Training documentation
For hospital
Simulation training is ensured.
B (High quality)
Training documentation
Facilities, equipment and instructors for simulation are provided. (8)
A (Moderate quality) B (Moderate quality)
Audit report1
For health service
Nationwide education programmes incorporating simulation techniques are established and regularly updated.
B (High quality)
Training documentation
For education provider
Undergraduate (bachelor) and graduate (master) programmes incorporate simulation in curricula by a hybrid (blended) approach incorporating both classroom and digital methods. (12)
B (High quality)
Training documentation
Parents are given the opportunity to be engaged in the delivery of simulation scenarios.
B (Low quality)
Training documentation
1The indicator “audit report” can also be defined as a benchmarking report.
Where to go
Further development
Grading of evidence
For parents and family
Contribute to the development of simulation scenarios, both classroom and / or via digital means or a hybrid approach. (12)
B (Low quality)
For healthcare professionals
N/A
For neonatal unit
N/A
For hospital
Integrate simulation as a routine part of the “every day” work environment. (8)
A (Moderate quality)
For health service
N/A
For education provider
N/A
Getting started
Initial steps
For parents and family
Invite parents to observe simulation scenarios.
For healthcare professionals
Participate in simulation training.
For neonatal unit
Develop simulation scenarios.
For hospital
Support healthcare professionals to participate in simulation training.
Provide access to simulation laboratories, equipment and instructors.
For education provider
Provide access to simulation laboratories and equipment.
Involve parents during the development of simulation scenarios within curricula.
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Ghoneim N, Dariya V, Guffey D, Minard CG, Frugé E, Harris LL, u. a. Teaching NICU Fellows How to Relay Difficult News Using a Simulation-Based Curriculum: Does Comfort Lead to Competence? Teach Learn Med. Mai 2019;31(2):207–21.
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Dempsey E, Pammi M, Ryan AC, Barrington KJ. Standardised formal resuscitation training programmes for reducing mortality and morbidity in newborn infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 4. September 2015;(9):CD009106.
Stephenson E, Salih Z, Cullen DL. Advanced Practice Nursing Simulation for Neonatal Skill Competency: A Pilot Study for Successful Continuing Education. J Contin Educ Nurs. Juli 2015;46(7):322–5.
Jansson M, Kääriäinen M, Kyngäs H. Effectiveness of Simulation-Based Education in Critical Care Nurses’ Continuing Education: A Systematic Review. Clinical Simulation In Nursing. 1. September 2013;9(9):e355–60.
Lindhard MS, Thim S, Laursen HS, Schram AW, Paltved C, Henriksen TB. Simulation-Based Neonatal Resuscitation Team Training: A Systematic Review. Pediatrics. April 2021;147(4):e2020042010.
Garvey AA, Dempsey EM. Simulation in Neonatal Resuscitation. Front Pediatr. 2020;8:59.
Bourque CJ, Dahan S, Mantha G, Robson K, Reichherzer M, Janvier A. Improving neonatal care with the help of veteran resource parents: An overview of current practices. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med. Februar 2018;23(1):44–51.
Fogg N, Wilson C, Trinka M, Campbell R, Thomson A, Merritt L, u. a. Transitioning from direct care to virtual clinical experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Professional Nursing. 2020;36(6):685–91.
September 2022 / 2nd edition / previous edition reviewed by Mulder ALM and Wagner M / next revision: 2025
Recommended citation
EFCNI, van den Hoogen A, Johnston L et al., European Standards of Care for Newborn Health: The role of simulation in education and training in neonatal care. 2022.
