Simulation-Based Curriculum for Medical Undergraduates in Non-technical Skills

Manpreet Kaur; Rashmi Ramachandran; Abhishek Nagarajappa; Devalina Goswami; Thilaka Muthiah; Bharat Yalla; Ambuj Roy

doi:10.7759/cureus.86020

Simulation-Based Curriculum for Medical Undergraduates in Non-technical Skills

Cureus. 2025 Jun 14;17(6):e86020. doi: 10.7759/cureus.86020. eCollection 2025 Jun.

Authors

Manpreet Kaur^{1

2}, Rashmi Ramachandran³, Abhishek Nagarajappa³, Devalina Goswami³, Thilaka Muthiah^{4

5

6}, Bharat Yalla³, Ambuj Roy⁷

Affiliations

¹ Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, USA.
² Anesthesiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, New Delhi, IND.
³ Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Critical Care, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, New Delhi, IND.
⁴ Anesthesiology, Apollo Simulation Center, Chennai, IND.
⁵ Anesthesiology, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, IND.
⁶ Anesthesiology, Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Chittoor, IND.
⁷ Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, New Delhi, IND.

Abstract

Introduction Teaching and training non-technical skills (NTS) at an early stage of education can lay a strong foundation at the root level and hence ensure organizational safety culture. This study aims to describe the process through which the undergraduate curriculum was created and modified based on the needs of the students following Kern's model. Materials and methods After institutional ethical approval, a curriculum design using Kern's model was used to teach NTS to undergraduates (UGs) who have completed the third year of medical education, a pilot curriculum design combined didactic lectures with practical simulation sessions and debriefings. The revised curriculum was formulated based on the adjustments made based on students' needs. Implementation of the curriculum on 38 students, in a group of eight to 10, was done. Results A general needs assessment was established after evaluating 102 responses. Forty-eight percent opined that NTS was extremely important for patient care. About 80.4% of students recommended simulation-based teaching, and 83.3% recommended bedside problem solving. Based on the curriculum gap, crisis or non-crisis scenarios were used to train on NTS. Both lecture and simulation scenarios were used for educational strategies and program implementation. Multiple changes were incorporated into the pilot curriculum based on the roadblocks. The curriculum was implemented with 38 students, and changes in students' behavior were assessed along with focused group discussions. All the students found the curriculum useful, and 53.8% supported that the lecture was also a very important part of the teaching modality. A revised curriculum was formulated based on students' needs. Conclusion Simulation and lecture-based curriculum for NTS incorporation in formal education programs of undergraduates using the Kern's six-step model was found to be well accepted by UG students.

Keywords: curriculum planning; kern's six steps; medical center; simulation in medical education; teaching and training medical and nursing students and faculty.