Double-Black Diamond Debriefing: Strategies for Debriefing Your Most Difficult Simulation Situations

Debriefing is one of the most important elements of simulation-based medical education. However, it can also be one of the most challenging aspects for facilitators.

Difficult debriefing situations can threaten effective learning. This interactive workshop explores the contributing factors and cognitive biases which can lead to difficult debriefing situations and provides strategies for mitigating many of them before they arise in addition to dealing with the ones that do.

Specifically, the roles of the educational context and the facilitator in creating difficult debriefing situations will be explored. Cognitive biases such as the fundamental attribution error and the false consensus effect will be discussed and how these can lead to unintended difficult conversations.
With greater understanding of the causative factors of difficult debriefing situations, the workshop will then present a framework of proactive and reactive, learner-centric and instructor-centric techniques which can help prevent and/or defuse these instances. The ultimate goal of the workshop is to assist facilitators in leading effective, reflective debriefing conversations to promote optimal learning for the participants with whom they interact.
This workshop is based on published, peer-reviewed work and the lived experiences of the faculty who have taught simulation education and spoken on this topic at conferences around North America and Europe.