Psychological Safety
Chapter 1: Psychological Safety
In the experiential learning cycle, simulation serves as an opportunity for hands-on experience and experimentation, with subsequent debriefing offering a chance for reflection. This reflection enables participants to derive meaning from the experience and determine how to apply the lessons learned in future clinical performance.
However, several challenges can hinder learner engagement in simulation-based experiences, potentially undermining the effectiveness of the experiential learning cycle. These challenges may include participants not fully embracing the simulation, concerns about the fidelity of the simulation, feeling exposed in a way that threatens their professional identity, and defensiveness when discussing performance that falls short of a standard (Rudolph et al., 2014).
So, what can facilitators do?
We can help create a psychologically safe environment during simulation-based education. Creating a psychologically safe learning environment is considered essential in the simulation literature (Turner & Harder, 2018).
Psychological Safety: A feeling or climate whereby the learner can feel valued and comfortable yet still speak up and take risks without fear of retribution, embarrassment, judgment, or consequences either to themselves or others, thereby promoting learning and innovation (Turner & Harder, 2018).
“INACSL defined the safe learning environment as the emotional climate that is created through the interaction among all participants including facilitators. In this positive emotional climate, all participants feel at ease taking risks, making mistakes, or extending themselves beyond their comfort zone. Awareness of the psychological aspects of learning, the effects of unintentional bias, cultural differences, and attentiveness to one’s own state of mind helps to effectively create a safe environment” (INACSL, Molloy et al., 2021, p. 58).
“If one feels psychologically safe, then one feels that the current environment is conducive to interpersonal risk taking; participants feel that they will be viewed positively even if they make mistakes” (Rudolph et al., 2014, p. 34).
Defining attributes include (Turner & Harder, 2018):
- Ability to make mistakes without consequences
- Qualities of a Facilitator
- Foundational Activities
- Orientation
- Preparation
- Objectives and Expectations
In summary, creating psychological safety is a goal that faculty can move toward in collaboration with their participants through a set of discrete, concrete activities. As you go through each chapter, you will note these carefully threaded activities and how they promote a psychologically safe environment.
