Manual de simulación con bajos recursos para instituciones sanitarias
Armijo-Rivera S., Ferré A., Torres D. (Eds.)
Sociedad Chilena de Simulación Clínica (SOCHISIM), 2025
978-3-030-15377-9
Clinical simulation has established itself over recent decades as a fundamental tool for training healthcare professionals and improving patient safety. However, its implementation is often associated with highly equipped centres and significant technological investments. The Low-Resource Simulation Manual for Healthcare Institutions, edited by Soledad Armijo-Rivera, Andrés Ferré Contreras and Daniel Torres Agüero, offers a different perspective: demonstrating that simulation can also be accessible, contextualised and sustainable, even in settings with limited resources.
The work represents a collaborative effort among professionals from different disciplines and countries across Ibero-America.
Indeed, it brings together the perspectives of nurses, physicians, physiotherapists and other professionals committed to clinical teaching, continuous improvement and patient safety.
The Chilean Society for Clinical Simulation (SOCHISIM), the driving force behind this initiative, positions the manual as an instrument to strengthen collaboration networks between scientific societies and educational communities. This spirit of cooperation is also reflected in the decision to publish the manual as a free-access digital resource, facilitating its dissemination and use across multiple institutions.
A proposal aligned with equity in healthcare education
The manual starts from a clear premise: simulation should not be considered a luxury reserved for institutions with large budgets. In many settings, not only in Latin America but in different parts of the world, healthcare teams must train professionals and improve their care processes in environments where material and technological resources are limited. In this scenario, low-cost simulation emerges as a powerful educational strategy that can help reduce educational gaps and promote equity.
The authors connect this proposal with the recent Global Consensus on Simulation-Based Practice in Healthcare, which positions equity as one of the key principles to ensure access to quality training methodologies worldwide. From this perspective, the manual invites readers to reconsider the concept of “low resources”: not as a synonym for lower quality, but as an opportunity to apply pedagogical creativity, ingenuity and adaptation to context.
A practical manual focused on implementation
One of the work’s main strengths is its eminently practical approach. The manual is structured in brief, accessible chapters that guide the reader through the various stages needed to implement simulation in real clinical settings. Rather than focusing exclusively on theory, it offers concrete recommendations for planning, developing and evaluating simulation activities using resources available in everyday practice.
The text is particularly aimed at healthcare institutions that have an interest in training but lack established simulation centres. Settings where it may prove particularly useful include community hospitals, family health centres, emergency departments, maternity units and teaching teams wishing to conduct simulation directly within the care environment.
Types of simulation that can be implemented
The manual presents examples of how to implement different types of simulation adapted to limited-resource settings. These include:
- Training in basic clinical procedures, such as intubation, lumbar puncture or resuscitation, using simple models or materials available in the clinical environment.
- Simulation of complex clinical situations, using real equipment and standardised patients, integrating the activity within the usual workflow of services.
- Training in non technical skills, such as leadership, clinical communication and teamwork, which are fundamental competencies for patient safety.
An interesting feature is the distinction between proactive and reactive simulations. The former correspond to planned activities with educational purposes, while the latter are developed in response to adverse events or gaps identified in clinical practice. This approach enables the integration of simulation within continuous improvement strategies and a culture of safety.
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