Clinical Simulation as a Response to the New Challenges of Care

The persistence of diagnostic error and failures in clinical performance highlights the limits of traditional health education models, which are centered on content transmission and fragmented skills training. This challenge is intensified in distance education contexts, where preparing for action in critical scenarios is even more difficult. The aim of this presentation is to analyze how clinical simulation, including its virtual modality, can serve as a strategy to promote deep learning and improve decision-making in complex care settings.

The central problem addressed is the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world performance in clinical situations, particularly in contexts of uncertainty and risk, as well as the persistent underestimation of technology-mediated simulation strategies.

As a main contribution, this work proposes a reconceptualization of clinical simulation not only as a teaching strategy, but as a device to make visible, analyze, and transform the cognitive and social processes involved in error. It integrates evidence and implementation experiences—both in-person and virtual—that show improvements in both technical and non-technical skills.

It concludes that clinical simulation, incorporating virtual formats, represents a key response to current challenges in healthcare and health education, fostering meaningful learning that can be transferred to professional practice.