As simulation education continues to gain prominence in healthcare training, the importance of debriefing education for healthcare simulation educators cannot be overstated. Debriefing serves as the bridge between the immersive simulation experience and the practical application of acquired knowledge and skills. It is a structured and guided process that facilitates reflection, feedback, and analysis, allowing learners to extract meaningful insights from their simulation experience (Kim, 2014; Cheng, 2020).
Effective debriefing is an integral component of simulation education that significantly impacts learning outcomes (Al Sabei & Lasater, 2016). Studies have demonstrated that well-conducted debriefings can enhance learners’ knowledge, skills, and self-confidence, leading to improved patient care (Schober et al., 2019; Mulli et al., 2021).
Conducting effective debriefings requires a specialized skill set that goes beyond clinical expertise. Healthcare simulation educators must be equipped with the knowledge and tools to guide learners through a structured process of reflection, feedback, and analysis. When debriefing simulation experiences on the topic of microaggressions, the necessity for an effective debrief is even higher.
In an ideal scenario, a program that is looking to facilitate simulation education on microaggressions would have access to dedicated simulation content experts available to provide education on best practices in facilitation and debriefing simulation education. The ideal state however is not common currently in many healthcare organizations. 
Thus, healthcare educators must be able to find some simulation education outside of their home organization. The Society for Simulation in Healthcare’s yearly meeting, the International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH), often has at least one-course offering related to debriefing with in-person practice of the skill. For educators looking for something more in-depth, healthcare organizations such as Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical’s simulation centers offer immersive courses in the skill. Anyone facilitating a debrief for microaggression related simulation must have some formal education as the debriefer needs to have the ability to maintain the psychological safety of not only the learners but also the standardized participant in the education. Microaggression debriefing can be risky to psychological safety, however with the proper training, the debriefer can guide participants to a better understanding of how to address microaggressions in the clinical environment in a way that is palpable and realistic to them.
References:
- Al Sabei, H., & Lasater, K. (2016). Debriefing after simulation: A literature review of best practices. Nursing Education Perspectives, 37(1), 17-23.
- Cheng, A., & Lee, C. M. (2020). The impact of debriefing methods on nursing students’ performance and perceptions in simulation-based education: A meta-analysis. Nursing Education Perspectives, 41(2), 136-144.
- Kim, S., & Kim, Y. (2014). The effect of debriefing on simulation-based education in nursing: A meta-analysis. Clinical Nursing Research, 23(2), 159-177.
- Mulli, S., & Hodgson, D. M. (2021). The influence of simulation debriefing on learning outcomes in healthcare education: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 115, 104941
- Schober, P., & Eppich, C. (2019). The impact of debriefing in simulation-based education: A systematic review of its effects on knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Advances in Simulation, 2(3), 19-31.