Medical Simulation Training: Market Share, Projected Growth

Over the years, we have recognized the potential of using simulation training to further the state of the global healthcare system. With recent technological advancements, simulators have not only started gaining recognition and acceptance, but are starting to become the norm. Numerous researches have been carried out to predict where medical simulation training will reach by the year 2030.

Expected Market Growth by 2030

In 2020, the global medical simulation market was valued at $1,687.5 million- this is the total product and service sales revenue it totalled in that entire year. In 2021, this was $1.8 billion. And this is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 13.9% as of 2021. And by 2028, this rate could reach anywhere from 14.4% to 16.3%. So, the market is projected to reach $6,688.6 million by 2030. That is almost 6.7 billion dollars! Even within the medical simulation market, the market share of models and simulators is the highest of all the products and services available.

What is driving the growth of the medical simulation market?

As technology advances and we create a better global healthcare system for ourselves, we see a rise in the growth of medical simulation devices in our hospitals and our medical and nursing education systems or facilities. We have observed a series of rapid advancements in healthcare technologies over the last few decades, and continue to do so with technologies like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, 3D printing, and nanotechnology, and these will continue to shape the future of healthcare for years to come. And given how a number of invasive techniques are starting to become the standard for many surgical procedures, this is further driving the market growth of medical simulation as there is a need for skilled professionals to perform surgeries like laparoscopy.

We are really starting to adopt medical simulation

A major factor for the adoption of medical simulation is the frequency of medical errors that happen globally. Statistically, around 5.2 million medical errors happen every year in India. Of these, around 98,000 people die – every year, due to medical negligence and mistakes. With the quality of technology we have at our disposal today, that is just not acceptable. There is an urgent need to identify and remedy this. Reducing medical errors not only results in saving lives, but it also reduces administration errors, preparation errors, and overall costs.

The difference that simulation training makes

It has been proved research after research that simulators and manikins have been playing an indispensable role in how we approach healthcare and how we train the next generation of medical and nursing professionals each time. Simulation is the only teaching method able to provide repeated hands-on experience with real-time feedback in a safe, controlled environment- without causing any harm or inconvenience to real patients. It creates a forgiving environment that not only lets learners make mistakes and learn from them, but because they have the permission to make mistakes, it gives them the freedom to look around and play with all the features and controls. It enables generations of aspirants to become skilled and capable enough before transitioning to the real clinical setting; it makes them competent enough to do that. This, in turn, also reduces healthcare costs. Additionally, the enhancement of clinical competence further fuels the market growth of the medical simulation market.

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Growth Rate of Medical Simulation Training

As the pandemic unraveled in the last few months of 2020, with border restrictions and the ongoing healthcare crisis, the focus was predominantly on handling acute operational demands instead of on addressing training needs. The growth rate observed was only 1.5% as compared to the projected growth rate of 9.2% predicted before the pandemic.

Key Challenges Affecting the Demand for Medical Simulation

There is a communication and skill gap between simulation experts and clinical staff. Additionally, for a clinical skills lab to be successful, it is important to have the necessary amount of clinical staff skilled at running a simulation lab, handling the simulators, and being able to execute simulation scenarios that are accompanied by debriefing. Another challenge is the inability to deal with the problems posed by unreliable wireless connectivity in wireless simulators.

Things are really starting to pace up after the pandemic for the medical simulation industry. What the future holds for the industry will certainly be interesting to watch.

Goals and Objectives of a Clinical Skills Lab

What is a Clinical Skills Lab?

A clinical skills laboratory (or skill lab) is an educational facility which gives students, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals the opportunity to learn relevant clinical and communication skills and build competency in them before transitioning to the real hospital setting with direct patient contact.

Why do we need a Clinical Skills Lab?

In many professions around the globe, students in colleges and universities learn a comprehensive amount of information. But it is not until they step out into the real world and get a job that they begin to learn the necessary skills needed to do their job. But it is not like this in the medical profession. Whether you are a doctor, a nurse, or a tech assistant, you need to know what you are doing. You cannot risk practicing on real patients and put their lives in danger or make them uncomfortable. You cannot jeopardize their safety and create a breach of their privacy.

In fact, the majority of mistakes (and serious mistakes) happen in the first few working years after licensure, and can be chalked up to a lack of experience. After years of theoretical learning, students are given a relatively short amount of time to acquaint themselves with the practical reality of the clinical setting. Before these labs came into existence, the acquisition of these relevant clinical skills depended on appropriate patient encounters and well-trained lecturers. Today, even the ratio of the number of students to the number of teachers is off. And with the amount of technical innovations in diagnosis and treatment, it becomes all the more important to incorporate skill labs to build skills in the learners.

A clinical skills lab is able to provide a controlled, safe, forgiving environment for creating realistic, hands-on, diverse learning experiences. It’s not the same as practicing on real patients, but it’s the next best thing. Apart from clinical skills, it helps build communication skills, cognitive skills, and a compassionate approach to patient care.

A clinical skills lab usually has a reception area, skill studios, an ICU simulation room, an operation theatre simulation room, a pediatric ICU simulation room, AV facilities in the rooms, surgical simulation suites, ultrasound training rooms, seminar halls, a board room, faculty lounges, a student lounge, and necessities like storage, safety systems, and HVAC. Personnel in attendance may include a chief coordinator, supporting departmental staff, nursing staff, a receptionist, and a biomedical engineer.

Goals and Objectives of a Clinical Skills Lab

To encourage and support learning through simulation technology and simulators, manikins, and trainers.
To provide a safe platform for hands-on learning experiences in order to build relevant clinical skills.
To provide a controlled, anxiety-free, and risk-free learning environment to students.
To provide a platform for repeated practice for mastery in relevant clinical skills – for novices and experts alike.
To build a strong foundation of the fundamentals in the learners.
To accommodate the unique learning needs of students with diverse backgrounds, abilities, and educational experiences.
To provide educational materials for students, faculty, and staff of medical and nursing colleges.
To encourage a life-long learning model.
To make sure to include all environmental factors and make the learning experience as realistic and authentic as possible.

To integrate clinical simulation into medical and nursing curricula.
To increase the preparedness of student learners before transitioning to the real hospital setting.
To increase their preparedness for dealing with high acuity cases.
To build strong communication skills.
To enable learners to think on their feet.
To enable learners to make critical decisions.
To ensure adaptation of best practices in the industry
To prepare students to be able to handle emergency situations
To encourage and demonstrate the power of team-building and collaboration.
To build problem solving and decision-making skills through simulations and case scenarios.
To provide learners with debriefing and positive feedback of their performance.
To provide learners with real-time feedback through simulator screens, allowing them to reflect and use critical thinking during the process.
To build dexterity in various clinical skills like examination, diagnostic reasoning, communication, and execution of clinical techniques.

The purpose of clinical skills lab or simulation-led medical education is not to replace traditional teaching methods, but to complement them. Over the years, these labs have come to be widely accepted as an essential part of medical education and colleges, and have helped numerous learners become job-ready in the medical industry, proving to be an indispensable asset to the industry.

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Medical Simulation Training: Market Share, Projected Growth￼

Expected Market Growth by 2030

What is driving the growth of the medical simulation market?

We are really starting to adopt medical simulation

The difference that simulation training makes

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Growth Rate of Medical Simulation Training

Key Challenges Affecting the Demand for Medical Simulation

Goals and Objectives of a Clinical Skills Lab

What is a Clinical Skills Lab?

Why do we need a Clinical Skills Lab?

Goals and Objectives of a Clinical Skills Lab

Medical Simulation Training: Market Share, Projected Growth