The primary aim of the SIMBA project is to develop and implement simulation-based learning (SBL) methodology across different stages of occupational therapy education programmes as an innovative and evidence-based method for teaching, learning, and evaluating professional OT competencies. To do so, one of the first tasks of the project was to precisely define what are the professional competencies expected of a novice OT practitioner and which competencies might be addressed using an SBL paradigm.
To do so, project partners working in Work Package Two gathered and analysed information about professional competencies in occupational therapy and those currently being addressed using SBL methodologies in OT education. This was achieved through a structured narrative review of the literature and two focus group studies that examined the perspectives of OT stakeholders (educators, practitioners, and students) and experts in SBL in occupational therapy education. The result of this work and research is the SIMBA Framework of occupational therapy competencies for simulation-based learning.
Based on our analysis of existing standards, frameworks and empirical literature on occupational therapy competencies, the SIMBA Framework includes a detailed and comprehensive overview of the professional competencies of an occupational therapy practitioner, categorized under six competency domains:
The Framework also includes an overview of the competencies most commonly and effectively addressed using simulation methodologies, which predominantly represent competencies from Domains B (managing and conducting the OT process), C (developing and maintaining professional relationships and partnerships) and D (professional autonomy). Finally, the SIMBA Framework offers an overview of models describing competency development and how these models can inform the design and implementation of simulation-based learning opportunities that account for the dynamic progession of the learning process.
In ongoing project activities, the SIMBA Framework is being applied to the creation of detailed simulation scenarios for supporting the acquisition and assessment of numerous occupational therapy competencies throughout the OT process and across diverse practice areas. These scenarios will be implemented, evaluated and validated in the occupational therapy programmes of all project partners in the 2024-2025 academic year and will subsequently be available as a resource on the SIMBA web platform.
The full Framework will soon be available as an open-access resource on the SIMBA website, along with the complementary SIMBA Guidelines for the implementation of simulation-based learning in occupational therapy education and an online webinar. This webinar will introduce interested viewers to both documents and provide an overview of how they can be used to inform the development and implementation of SBL in OT education. Be sure to stay tuned to our website for ongoing news of SIMBA project activities!
Claire Sangster Jokic
is a Lecturer in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Health Sciences in Zagreb