ASPiH 2024 Conference – transformative simulation

As ASPiH (Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare) celebrates its 15th anniversary at this year's conference, there is an opportunity to reflect on how simulation in healthcare has changed.Although simulation in healthcare has been around for centuries [1], it is really only in the past few decades that we have seen its legitimacy, integration into healthcare and education, and purposes become more established [2].Recent growth has been exponential and with that has come further insights and opportunities to shape, refine and advance simulation in all its forms for the benefit of all.This year's ASPiH conference theme is that of Transformative Simulation [3,4].The theme reflects not only a distinct purpose for simulation but also acknowledges how simulation has transformed over time.We are commonly used to seeing healthcare simulation used as a tool for education but more and more we are seeing the benefits of simulation as 'a tool to transform health and care through collective understanding, insight and learning ' [3,5].This distinct purpose offers many opportunities to transform healthcare -even disruptively -rather than replicating existent practices.However, without recognition of this distinction, advances are slow and confusion can persist.Simulation designed for education serves a fundamentally different purpose to simulation aimed at eliciting insights and knowledge to drive transformational changes.That becomes strikingly evident when designing simulations for these very different purposes.For example, educational simulation requires pre-determined learning outcomes [6], whereas transformative simulation requires broad objectives that enable