Selecting the wrong person for a job can have serious consequences for an organisation, the employee involved and, perhaps of most importance in medicine, the patient. Most medical schools select primarily on academic ability. However, it cannot necessarily be assumed that those with high academic ability alone can be turned into potentially good doctors via medical training; other skills and qualities may need to be present from the start.

Simulation is used to enhance patient safety in the clinical and non-clinical areas.

Patient safety is the prevention of errors and adverse effects to patients associated with health care. While health care has become more effective it has also become more complex, with greater use of new technologies, medicines and treatments.

Simulation based medical education is defined as any educational activity that utilizes simulation to replicate clinical scenarios.

Using technologies effectively requires knowledge of how people learn, how to design interactions with the tools and how to evaluate best use given the desired learning outcomes. TEL aims to focus on the adaptation of traditional approaches to education, specifically relating to the evolution of educational technologies that can enable flexibility, creativity and innovation.

Involving patients and the wider community in the management and practice of healthcare has been an important aspect of policy by many national governments. This involvement could arguably be situated in a broader context of ‘ social accountability ’, defined by the World Health Organization as the obligation [of medical schools] to direct their education, research and service activities towards addressing the priority health concerns of the community, region, and/or nation they have the mandate to serve.