Leaders by example: Best practices and advice on establishing a state-of-the art surgical simulation center that optimizes available resources

Background: The role of simulation-based education continues to expand exponentially. To excel in this environment as a surgical simulation leader requires unique knowledge, skills, and abilities that are different from those used in traditional clinically-based education.

Methods: Leaders in surgical simulation were invited to participate as discussants in a pre-conference course offered by the Association for Surgical Education. Highlights from their discussions were recorded.

Results: Recommendations were provided on topics such as building a simulation team, preparing for accreditation requirements, what to ask for during early stages of development, identifying tools and resources needed to meet educational goals, expanding surgical simulation programming, and building educational curricula.

Conclusion: These recommendations provide new leaders in simulation with a unique combination of up-to-date best practices in simulation-based education, as well as valuable advice gained from lessons learned from the personal experiences of national leaders in the field of surgical simulation and education.