A Brief History of Clinical Simulation: How Did We Get Here?

Abstract Simulation, as an activity, is quite old. Sporadic use of simulation for health education has been reported for hundreds of years. Despite steady growth in its use starting in the 18th century, simulation for training health professions declined in the early 20th century before a revival in the 1960s. By creating Resusci Anne, the most famous resuscitation manikin, in 1960, Asmund Laerdal paved the way for the commercialization of simulators and their widespread adoption for health education. Howard S. Barrows was pivotal in developing standardized patients and using them for assessment. In the early 1990s, David Gaba and his team were among the first to use simulation for training in patient safety and crisis management. Their work heralded the rise of immersive simulation and of high-technology patient simulators. The drive toward patient safety was arguably—and still may be—the major impetus for the development and widespread adoption of simulation. Several factors are contributing to the growth of simulation, including interprofessional education, the need to replace clinical hours with simulation, and the new competency-based approach to healthcare education and the development of “entrustable professional activities.” This chapter briefly summarizes the history of healthcare simulation and the major forces driving its adoption.