Developing Team Cognition: A Role for Simulation

Abstract

Simulation has had a major impact in the advancement of healthcare team training and assessment. To date, most simulation-based training and assessments focus on the teamwork behaviors that impact team performance, often ignoring critical cognitive, motivational, and affective team processes. Evidence from team science research demonstrates a strong relationship between team cognition and team performance and suggests a role for simulation in the development of this team-level construct. In this article, we synthesize research from the broader team science literature to provide foundational knowledge regarding team cognition and highlight best practices for using simulation to target team cognition.

Figure 1

Team Mental Model and Transactive Memory System Definitions

Figure 2

Example of Event-based Simulation Design