Trial reportBMC medical education2019
High-fidelity is not superior to low-fidelity simulation but leads to overconfidence in medical students.
Trial report in BMC medical education, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 115 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
115 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 292 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of the use of human body donor models for postgraduate laparoscopic surgical training.Anatomical science international · 2026Pooled it
- Learning by making - student-made models and creative projects for medical education: systematic review with qualitative synthesis.BMC medical education · 2025Pooled it
- Simulation-Based Education of Health Workers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.Global health, science and practice · 2024Pooled it
- The effectiveness of simulation-based learning (SBL) on students' knowledge and skills in nursing programs: a systematic review.BMC medical education · 2024Pooled it
- Technology-enhanced simulation for healthcare professionals: A meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Performance effects of simulation training for medical students - a systematic review.GMS journal for medical education · 2022Pooled it
- Neonatal Ventilation Training Using a Low-Cost, High-Fidelity Simulator in a Low-Resource Setting: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Trial
- Full-Scale high-fidelity simulation compared to procedural simulation workshop for veno-arterial ECMO cannulation during refractory cardiac arrest: a randomized controlled trial.BMC medical education · 2026Trial
- Skill retention of advanced airway techniques after simulation training - a randomized prospective study.BMC medical education · 2026Trial
- Virtual reality and traditional training in surgical instrumentation: A non-inferiority comparative study.Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2025Trial
- The Impact of Implementing the Vortex Approach on Airway Management Performance in Stressed Medical Students: A Randomized Controlled Simulation Study.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2023Trial
- In situ simulation training for a better interprofessional team performance in transferring critically ill patients with COVID-19: a prospective randomised control trial.Postgraduate medical journal · 2022Trial
- A randomized comparison of training programs using a pelvic model designed to enhance pelvic floor examination in patients presenting with chronic pelvic pain.International urogynecology journal · 2021Trial
- High and low-fidelity simulation for respiratory diseases pediatric training: a prospective and randomized study.Jornal de pediatriaTrial
- Towards scalable psychological first aid training: an autoethnographic exploration of the potential of large language models in simulation-based learning.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Simulation-Based Learning in Oral Radiology: Students' Perceptions of Training in Intraoral Radiographic Techniques Across Two Dental Institutes.Journal of dental education · 2026Article
- Article
- A low cost silicone mandibular model for suturing skills training among undergraduate medical students: development and comparative evaluation.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Virtual reality as classification aid for acetabular fractures : New possibilities for training and teaching.Unfallchirurgie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Article
55 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSimulation has become integral to the training of both undergraduate medical students and medical professionals. Due to the increasing degree of realism and range of features, the latest mannequins are referred to as high-fidelity simulators. Whether increased realism leads to a general improvement in trainees' outcomes is currently controversial and there are few data on the effects of these simulators on participants' personal confidence and self-assessment.
methodsOne-hundred-and-thirty-five fourth-year medical students were randomly allocated to participate in either a high- or a low-fidelity simulated Advanced Life Support training session. Theoretical knowledge and self-assessment pre- and post-tests were completed. Students' performance in simulated scenarios was recorded and rated by experts.
resultsParticipants in both groups showed a significant improvement in theoretical knowledge in the post-test as compared to the pre-test, without significant intergroup differences. Performance, as assessed by video analysis, was comparable between groups, but, unexpectedly, the low-fidelity group had significantly better results in several sub-items. Irrespective of the findings, participants of the high-fidelity group considered themselves to be advantaged, solely based on their group allocation, compared with those in the low-fidelity group, at both pre- and post-self-assessments. Self-rated confidence regarding their individual performance was also significantly overrated.
conclusionThe use of high-fidelity simulation led to equal or even worse performance and growth in knowledge as compared to low-fidelity simulation, while also inducing undesirable effects such as overconfidence. Hence, in this study, it was not beneficial compared to low-fidelity, but rather proved to be an adverse learning tool.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.