• Dengyi Zhou, Meri Davitadze, Emma Ooi, Cai Ying Ng, Isabel Allison, Lucretia Thomas, Thia Hanania, Parisha Blaggan, Nia Evans, Wentin Chen, Eka Melson, Kristien Boelaert, Niki Karavitaki, Punith Kempegowda, and SIMBA and CoMICs team.
• College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B4 6BN, United Kingdom.
• Postgrad Med J. 2023 Mar 22; 99 (1167): 253125-31.

BackgroundSimulation via Instant Messaging-Birmingham Advance (SIMBA) delivers simulation-based learning through WhatsApp and Zoom, helping to sustain continuing medical education (CME) for postgraduate healthcare professionals otherwise disrupted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to assess whether SIMBA helped to improve clinical knowledge and if this improvement in knowledge was sustained over time.MethodsTwo SIMBA sessions-thyroid and pituitary-were conducted in July-August 2020. Each session included simulation of various real-life cases and interactive discussion. Participants' self-reported confidence, acceptance, and knowledge were measured using surveys and multiple-choice questions pre- and post-simulation and in a 6- to 12-week follow-up period. The evaluation surveys were designed using Moore's 7 Levels of CME Outcomes Framework.ResultsA total of 116 participants were included in the analysis. Significant improvement was observed in participants' self-reported confidence in approach to simulated cases (thyroid, n = 37, P < .0001; pituitary, n = 79, P < .0001). Significant improvement in clinical knowledge was observed following simulation (thyroid, n = 37, P < .0001; pituitary, n = 79, P < .0001). For both sessions, retention of confidence and knowledge was seen at 6-12 weeks' follow-up.ConclusionsSIMBA increased participants' clinical knowledge on simulated cases and this improvement was retained up to 6-12 weeks after the session. Further studies are required to explore long-term retention and whether it translates to improved real-world clinical practice.© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Postgraduate Medical Journal. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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