Simulation-based education plays an integral role in preparing healthcare students and professionals to deliver safe, high-quality patient care. Following RCSI SIM’s recognition with the 2026 ASPIRE to Excellence in Healthcare Simulation Award, Professor Claire Condron, Director of RCSI SIM, writes about the educational approach, research and continuous improvement underpinning the centre’s work.
How can healthcare students and professionals develop the skills needed to deliver safe, high-quality patient care?
At RCSI, simulation-based education supports learners to develop clinical, technical, communication and teamwork skills in a simulated environment, preparing them for the demands of healthcare practice.
This approach has received international recognition, with RCSI SIM Centre for Simulation Education and Research awarded the prestigious 2026 ASPIRE to Excellence in Healthcare Simulation Award for its work.
The award recognises excellence in simulation-based education across undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programmes, spanning multiple disciplines and levels of healthcare training.
Embedding simulation in healthcare education
The award reflects how simulation is embedded across healthcare education at RCSI.
The ASPIRE judging panel commended the deep institutional integration of simulation at RCSI and strong governance structures that position it as a core strategic capability. It also recognised RCSI SIM’s theory-informed approach to curriculum design and its mature and well-supported simulated patient programme, which contributes to education, scholarship and innovation.
Through simulation-based education, RCSI SIM supports healthcare professionals and students in developing the clinical, technical, communication and teamwork skills required to deliver safe, high-quality patient care.
Supporting this approach are RCSI SIM’s faculty, technical, administrative and simulated patient development pathways, which were also highlighted by the panel.
Ongoing evaluation is also central to RCSI SIM’s educational practice and supports a culture of continuous quality improvement. The panel also recognised the centre’s focus on sustainability, including responsible resource stewardship and Green Lab Certification.
Research, advancement and wider influence
Beyond its teaching, RCSI SIM also contributes to the wider advancement of simulation-based education through research and scholarship.
The ASPIRE panel described this output as exceptional, noting its international dissemination and demonstrated leadership in the field. The centre’s extensive external engagement, including outreach to schools, industry and the public, further extends its national and international influence.
For our team, the award provides valuable external validation of work developed over many years. It reflects the dedication and expertise of colleagues throughout RCSI SIM and a shared commitment to collaboration, innovation and evidence-informed education for the benefit of patients and human health.
The successful application was led by a team from RCSI SIM including myself, Dr Claire Mulhall (Lecturer), Dr Andrea Doyle (Research Fellow), Dr Marwa Aly (Research Programme Manager), Rebecca Kirrane (Senior Clinical Skills and Simulation Technician), Carla Alasia (Operations Coordinator) and Dermot Daly (Operations Manager) with the support of the full RCSI SIM team.
The 2026 for RCSI SIM recognition builds on RCSI’s previous ASPIRE successes, including the 2025 ASPIRE to Excellence Award for International Collaboration in Health Professions Education, awarded to the long-standing collaboration between RCSI’s Institute of Global Surgery and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), and the 2022 award for Student Engagement.
Professor Claire Condron is Director of the RCSI SIM Centre for Simulation Education and Research.
RCSI is committed to achieving a better and more sustainable future through the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
