Advancing perioperative communication training in anesthesiology: an AIDET-informed simulation curriculum with preliminary local evaluation

Abstract Communication in anesthesiology is often compressed, high stakes, and emotionally charged, yet simulation in this specialty has traditionally focused more on technical or crisis-management skills than on clinician-patient-family communication. To address this gap, we developed an AIDET-informed simulation curriculum for third-year anesthesiology residents that combined a simple communication scaffold with scenario-based rehearsal, role rotation, structured observation, and debriefing. The curriculum was designed using principles from adult learning, experiential learning, and deliberate practice, and targeted four recurrent perioperative communication challenges: preoperative option discussion, high-risk consent with surrogate decision-making, disclosure after difficult airway management, and postoperative complication discussion. In a preliminary single-center historical-control evaluation, the 2021 cohort received standard communication teaching in January-February 2024 and completed OSCE assessment in June 2024, whereas the 2022 cohort received the AIDET-informed simulation curriculum in January-February 2025 and completed OSCE assessment in June 2025. Sixty residents were included, with 30 in each cohort. The curriculum was delivered over 270 minutes using existing simulation infrastructure and trained standardized patients. Local evaluation data showed higher simulated communication performance scores and more favorable simulated patient ratings in the intervention cohort, together with lower self-reported stress and higher confidence in difficult conversations. We interpret these findings cautiously because allocation was by cohort rather than randomization, the evaluation was conducted in one center, and outcomes were assessed in simulated rather than workplace settings. This article therefore presents the curriculum primarily as a theory-informed and practice-oriented simulation strategy, supported by early local evidence, rather than as definitive effectiveness research. We outline the rationale, design principles, implementation process, evaluation methods, practical lessons, and boundary conditions to help simulation educators adapt the approach to other procedural and high-pressure specialties.