Developing a strategic plan for a healthcare simulation facility

Abstract

A strategic plan defines an organization’s strategy, or direction, and supports decisions on how to allocate resources in order to best pursue key goals. The need for a simulation facility to have a strategic plan is recognized by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare and the Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare. A strategic plan is also relevant to the professional standards for accreditation outlined by the Society for Simulation in Europe. However, specific guidance on how to develop a strategic plan for a simulation facility is lacking. This report describes a five-stage process for developing a strategic plan for a simulation facility: (1) define the mission, vision and values; (2) strategic formulation; (3) operational planning; (4) assessing the results; and (5) reformulating the strategy. It is not suggested that this is the only method for developing a strategic plan. However, it is important that whatever approach used is systematic, rational, justifiable and draws upon input from all of the stakeholders in the simulation facility.