Designing and Implementing a Comprehensive Simulation Curriculum in Internal Medicine Residency

Medical simulation is the use of a device or series of devices to emulate anatomy, real-life clinical situations, and clinical procedures for the purposes of education, evaluation, and research. 1 , 2 Simulation is a powerful tool in the education and evaluation of physicians and is rapidly becoming a central thread in the fabric of medical education. 3 The effectiveness of simulation-based medical education (SBME) can be optimized by integrating simulation into an overall curriculum. 4 Internal medicine training programs are introducing procedural training using simulation but are not as advanced as other programs, such as anesthesia and emergency medicine, in the use of technology-based simulation utilizing high-fidelity full-size mannequins. 5 We feel simulation can be used to teach a wide range of CanMEDS competencies, and a comprehensive simulation curriculum should become a standard in internal medicine residency training.