“An Even Playing Field”: Non-Clinical Simulation for Leadership Development Among Pediatric Interns

Background Graduate training programs are tasked with preparing trainees to lead clinical teams. Currently, there is little consensus on how to develop their interpersonal leadership skills, and pediatric programs tend to focus on senior residents. Targeting pediatric interns with strategies for developing interpersonal leadership skills provides more opportunity to consolidate and apply these skills during training. Objective We aimed to understand how simulation facilitates the development of interpersonal leadership skills among pediatric interns. Methods Pediatric interns participated in an outdoor wilderness simulation repeated 4 times between July–November 2022. The simulation and debrief focused on consensus decision-making and communication. To explore if and how simulation outside of clinical teams and devoid of clinical content fostered interpersonal leadership skills, we conducted semi-structured focus groups after each debrief. We conducted thematic analysis of the recorded debriefs and focus groups. Results Forty nine of 53 eligible interns participated. Participants demonstrated learning about interpersonal leadership skills and began to build a leadership identity. Simulation facilitated this development through 3 core elements. Detaching the simulation from clinical content and settings leveled the playing field and engendered experimentation and examination. Despite this separation, the simulation prompted participants to link to clinical spaces through reflection on translating interpersonal leadership skills to clinical settings. Conclusion Simulation outside of clinical teams and free of clinical content creates safe spaces for pediatric interns to develop interpersonal leadership skills. Earlier acquisition of these skills may facilitate leadership development over the course of pediatric training.