Simulation-Based Comprehensive Cleft Care Workshops: An Educational Model for Multidisciplinary Capacity Building

The Comprehensive Cleft Care Workshop (CCCW) was designed to strengthen multidisciplinary cleft care by combining didactic lectures with hands-on simulation training. A pre- and postworkshop survey was distributed to attendees of the three-and-a-half-day international workshop held in Cartagena, Colombia, in November 2025. Participants included cleft care providers from multiple countries and specialties. The workshop featured 16 simulation laboratories in addition to traditional lectures. Outcomes measured included participant demographics, satisfaction, procedural confidence, Student Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ) scores, and anticipated impact on clinical practice. A total of 173 participants from 40 countries completed the surveys. Most attendees reported high levels of satisfaction with the workshop, significant improvements in perceived confidence across procedural skills, and a strong expectation that the training would positively influence their clinical practice. The findings suggest that simulation-based comprehensive cleft care workshops are an effective and scalable approach to building multidisciplinary capacity. This model may be particularly valuable in low- and middle-income settings, where opportunities for hands-on training are limited, and offers a structured framework for ongoing professional development in cleft care.