How to Build a Simulation Program That Meets INACSL Standards of Best Practice
Building a strong simulation program starts with a thoughtful approach to scenario design, debriefing, evaluation, and faculty development. The INACSL Standards of Best Practice provide a shared framework for bringing these elements together and supporting consistent, high-quality simulation-based education. Turning that framework into daily practice gives programs a foundation to strengthen learning experiences, support faculty, and grow simulation capabilities over time.
What Do the INACSL Standards of Best Practice Cover?
The Healthcare Simulation Standards of Best Practice, developed by the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL), span the full simulation lifecycle. They include standards for simulation design and outcomes, prebriefing, facilitation, debriefing, participant evaluation, professional development, and operations. Each standard defines specific criteria and required elements grounded in current evidence, rather than general guidance open to interpretation.
Programs that incorporate these standards into their curriculum, scenario library, and evaluation processes can create a more consistent and repeatable approach to simulation. This framework becomes especially valuable for any modern simulation center looking to expand training across multiple specialties while maintaining a high standard of quality.
How to Build a Simulation Program That Meets INACSL Standards of Best Practice
Applying the standards consistently means incorporating their principles into how a program designs, delivers, and evaluates simulation experiences. The strategies below highlight key areas where programs can put the standards into practice and build a strong foundation for repeatable, high-quality simulation.
1) Design Scenarios Around Measurable Objectives
Every simulation should start with objectives that are specific, measurable, and tied to an expected outcome, not a general topic area. Vague objectives make it difficult to evaluate whether a scenario actually achieved its purpose.
Objectives should also match the participant’s knowledge and skill level, since a scenario pitched too far above or below a learner’s readiness undermines the learning experience regardless of how realistic the equipment is. Scenario design should also link directly to program-level outcomes.
A single scenario that is well designed but disconnected from broader curriculum goals adds less value than one built with the end outcome in mind from the start. Reviewing scenario objectives against program goals regularly keeps the curriculum aligned, rather than drifting into disconnected one-off exercises.
2) Standardize Prebriefing and Psychological Safety
Prebriefing prepares learners for what they are about to experience and sets expectations for the scenario ahead. Giving this step the time and structure it needs helps learners understand the simulation environment, their roles, and what is expected of them, creating a stronger foundation for the experience that follows.
A consistent prebriefing script or checklist helps ensure every learner gets the same foundation before a scenario begins. Psychological safety needs to be established during this same window. Learners who feel safe making mistakes during a scenario engage more honestly and get more out of the debrief that follows.
Facilitators across a program can use consistent language to establish this safety, creating a familiar and supportive experience for learners regardless of which instructor leads the session.
3) Make Debriefing Consistent and Defensible
Debriefing is central to the learning experience, giving learners and facilitators an opportunity to reflect on the scenario and connect the experience to future practice. A structured debriefing framework gives facilitators a shared approach while still letting them adapt the conversation to each group’s needs.
Training facilitators in a shared debriefing model gives them a common foundation while supporting the development of their individual facilitation skills. Programs that want a deeper look at building this consistency can find more detail in Elevate Healthcare’s (formerly CAE Healthcare) debriefing best practices guide, which breaks down specific techniques for driving deeper learning after each scenario.
Recording sessions and periodically reviewing debriefs can also give faculty opportunities to reflect on their facilitation and continue developing their practice over time.
4) Evaluate Learners With Structured, Validated Tools
Establishing evaluation criteria before a scenario runs gives evaluators a clear reference point for assessing learner performance. Reliable, validated instruments also support greater consistency when multiple facilitators are evaluating the same skills or competencies.
This structure is particularly valuable for high-stakes evaluations, where clear and consistent criteria help ensure learners are assessed against the same expectations. Feedback from evaluation should flow back into scenario design and curriculum planning, not just into an individual learner’s file.
Patterns in performance across a specific skill area can provide valuable insight into where additional practice, curriculum refinement, or new learning opportunities could benefit the program. Connecting evaluation findings back to curriculum planning helps programs continually refine the learning experience across cohorts.
5) Invest in Facilitator Professional Development
Facilitators benefit from ongoing professional development that supports their growth and helps them expand what they can accomplish within the simulation center. Rather than limiting development to initial onboarding, programs can give facilitators opportunities to strengthen their simulation practice, explore new approaches, and build capabilities that support the center’s evolving goals.
Reevaluating that plan periodically keeps professional development aligned with how the program evolves. The Elevate Learning Institute supports this kind of ongoing development through experiential learning, giving simulationists opportunities to learn through hands-on experiences, reflection, and application. This approach can help facilitators take simulation beyond simply operating a manikin and explore how to best leverage simulation to achieve meaningful learning and clinical outcomes.
Programs looking to further develop their simulation strategy can also benefit from Achieve Program consulting, which provides guidance for aligning simulation education and program development with their broader goals.
6) Use Platforms to Support Standards Alignment at Scale
As simulation programs grow, having tools that support these practices can make it easier for faculty to work from shared resources and maintain consistency across sessions. A platform that centralizes scenario templates, recorded sessions, and evaluation data gives the team a common reference point that can support both day-to-day simulation and long-term program development.
LearningSpace supports this kind of alignment by bringing scenario management, video review, and analytics together in one system. This gives faculty a shared framework for managing sessions and reviewing performance while helping programs maintain continuity as their simulation activities evolve.
Training facilitators on the INACSL standards establishes the foundation; tools and processes that reinforce those principles in daily practice can help make standards alignment a natural part of the simulation workflow.
Build a Program Aligned With INACSL Standards of Best Practice
Meeting the INACSL Standards of Best Practice is an ongoing process that brings together curriculum design, facilitation, debriefing, evaluation, faculty development, and program operations. When these elements work together, simulation programs have a stronger foundation for delivering meaningful learning experiences and supporting the outcomes their learners, faculty, and organizations are working toward.
Whether a program is establishing its simulation practices or refining an established center, using the INACSL standards as a framework provides a practical way to evaluate current processes, strengthen faculty development, and build consistency as the program grows. The goal is not simply to meet a set of standards, but to use them as a foundation for continuous improvement in simulation-based education.