The Analytical Gaze of Operators and Facilitators in Healthcare Simulations: Technologies, Agency and the Evolution of Instructional Expertise

This article analyses the coordination between professionals, students and technology in the communication and appropriation of know-how in healthcare simulations. To be successful, simulations require continuous interventions by professionals (in this case, operators and facilitators), who analyse, assess and reflect on the actions participants take as the simulation evolves. This study builds on interaction analysis of 30 video-documented (15 h) conversations between operators and facilitators in post-simulation discussions of outcomes. The specific focus of the analysis is the nature of work done by operators/facilitators as they analyse and evaluate simulations. The results show the multilayered nature of these analyses. The operators and facilitators show three prominent types of consideration. They (a) calibrate what they have observed, (b) monitor the progress of the scenario as an instructional event, and (c) comment on their own contributions as instructors/participants. All these considerations have evaluative elements, and the agentic nature of technologies, students and professionals is addressed. One general observation of interest is the ways in which simulations provide access to student learning, and how these activities become accessible for professional scrutiny and judgement.