High-fidelity simulation has become far more than an opportunity to practise clinical procedures in a controlled environment. For pre-hospital clinicians working in complex, unpredictable and high-stakes environments, simulation can provide something that conventional classroom teaching cannot: the opportunity to rehearse performance when the environment itself becomes part of the problem.
In this compilation episode of the Pre-Hospital Care Podcast, we bring together two conversations that explore how high-fidelity simulation can be designed, delivered and debriefed to create meaningful improvements in clinical and team performance.
We begin with Dr Neel Bhanderi, Head of Education and Training at MedSTAR Retrieval HEMS in Adelaide and Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Recorded in 2023, our conversation explores the concept of creating an "analogue of reality" and using simulation to introduce progressively more complex stressors into training. We discuss skills acquisition under stress, communication, handover, environmental noise, task loading, debriefing and the relationship between simulation and operational case review.
We then move to a more recent conversation with Ben King, Founder and CEO of Best Practice Medicine. Ben explores the role of high-fidelity simulation in preparing clinicians for the complexity and uncertainty of real-world pre-hospital care. We look at experiential learning, team coordination, human performance under stress, targeted debriefing and the use of video-assisted debriefing to translate simulation into measurable performance improvement.
Across both conversations, a common theme emerges: the value of simulation is not determined simply by how realistic the mannequin, environment or equipment looks. It is determined by how deliberately the simulation reproduces the cognitive, behavioural, environmental and interpersonal demands of clinical practice, and what happens during the debrief afterwards.
We explore:
- What actually makes simulation "high fidelity"?
- How can training progressively introduce stress without overwhelming learners?
- The difference between technical skills and performance in complex environments
- Communication and handover under pressure
- Environmental stressors, distraction and task loading
- Simulation as a tool for developing team performance
- How video can enhance debriefing and reflective learning
- Psychological safety during debriefing
- Using real-world case review to identify simulation and training needs
- Moving from simulation as an educational event to simulation as a performance-improvement system
- How we can better prepare clinicians for the reality of pre-hospital care
The central question is simple:
If we expect clinicians to perform under pressure, should we not train performance under pressure?
High Fidelity Simulation with Neel Bhanderi
Originally released 15 May 2023
Listen to the original episode on Apple Podcasts
High Fidelity Simulation in Pre-hospital Care: Training for Reality, Debriefing for Impact with Ben King
Originally released 27 April 2026
Listen to the original episode on Apple Podcasts
The Pre-Hospital Care Podcast brings together leading clinicians, researchers, educators and practitioners to explore the science, practice and human factors behind modern pre-hospital care.
If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with a colleague involved in clinical education, simulation or pre-hospital care.
