Professional roles and activities of simulated patient educators. Development of a multidimensional competency framework

Standardized Participant (SP) Educators (SPEs) play a central role in simulation-based education, yet their professional profile and competencies have so far remained insufficiently defined. Against this background, the aim of this project was to develop a competency-based framework for SPEs that reflects their professional roles, core activities, and required competencies within health professions education. An expert group from Germany and Switzerland, representing diverse academic and professional backgrounds, collaboratively developed the framework through an inductive, participatory, and consensus-driven process. Established competency frameworks from health professions education, including CanMEDS and the German NKLM, served as conceptual references. The development process included iterative feedback loops and a final cross-comparison with published international frameworks to ensure completeness and contextual validity. The resulting framework defines eight professional roles and 39 professional activities, subdivided into 132 tasks and associated competencies. It provides a comprehensive, practice-oriented, and formative tool that captures the complexity and scope of SPEs’ work. By mapping roles, activities, and competencies, it offers orientation for program development, team structuring, and capacity building, while highlighting the need for professional recognition of SPEs as qualified academic staff. While primarily contextualized for German-speaking countries, the framework may also serve as a reference for SP programs internationally and as a foundation for ongoing discourse and future adaptation.