The Simulation Operations Needs Assessment Tool (SONAT) is a self-report needs-assessment instrument created for simulation operations specialists (SOS), the people who run the logistics, technology, and day-to-day operations of healthcare simulation programs. A needs assessment is a structured process used to identify the gap between what people know, have, or can do and what they should know, have, or be able to do), looking at what is needed versus what exists.
The result is a clear picture of the priorities for training, resources, or support. The SONAT was developed to identify knowledge and skill gaps at hire and across a career so programs can design targeted orientation and professional-development plans. This HealthySimulation.com article by Teresa Gore, PhD, DNP, APRN FNP-BC, CHSE-A, FSSH, FAAN, will explore the SONAT and practical application of the tool.
Simulation Educators Needs Assessment Tool (SONAT) Facts
The SONAT was developed in the same process as the Simulation Educators Needs Assessment Tool (SENAT).The purpose of the SONAT is to assess the training needs of simulation operations staff to inform onboarding, objective information for annual evaluation, and as a guide for professional development. Jarrod Young, Matt Charnetski, E.B. Floersch, Phillip Wortham, and Kim Leighton developed the tool in 2025 built on the Certified Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialists (CHSOS) blueprint, SimGHOSTS capability framework, the Simulation Educator Needs Assessment Tool (SENAT), and the Healthcare Simulation Standards.
Psychometrics were performed on the SONAT for reliability and validity with 412 respondents (n= 256 completed) The SONAT has four subscales with good-to-excellent internal consistency (Cronbachโs ฮฑ):
- Awareness of Professional Standards = .795 (6 items): Knowledge and application of codes, standards, professional guidelines
- Advancement of Healthcare Simulation = .730 (3 items): Engagement with the simulation profession, scholarship, contributions
- Healthcare Simulation Topics = .912 (11 items): Foundational content areas, such as simulation design, evaluation, and educational theory
- Simulation Modalities = .902 (10 items): Technical and methodological competence across simulation modalities
The SONAT is freely downloadable with permission to use, and an electronic version on HealthySimulation.com.
How Healthcare Simulation Programs Can Use the SONAT?
There are several reasons for healthcare simulation administrators and healthcare simulation operations specialists should incorporate the SONAT into their clinical simulation program:
- The SONAT can be given to a new SOS upon hiring during orientation to map strengths and gaps and prioritize training topics as a needs assessment.
- The SONAT can be given annually for professional development planning or to justify training resources.
- Aggregate anonymous results across the healthcare simulation staff to identify program-level training needs such as equipment, policies, scenario support, AV, modalities.
- Efficient use of resources instead of training staff on everything, a needs assessment pinpoints exactly where the gaps are. This saves time, money, and avoids โovertraining.โ
- SONAT provides data for objective decision-making to justify requests for funding, staffing, or new technology. The SONAT will provide the evidence for a needed resource.
- SONAT provides information for personalized growth to create a roadmap for professional development.
- At the organizational level, the SONAT identifies system-wide needs for targeted workshops, mentorship, or hiring strategies.
- Accountability and Alignment: The SONAT ensures that training and development are aligned with organizational goals and professional standards to provide accountability and alignment. This is useful for accreditation or audits.
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Healthcare Simulation Topics
The core knowledge domain can be assessed with questions which include:
- Simulation design and instructional theory
- Needs assessment and learning objective development
- Scenario writing, context-setting
- Debriefing theories and frameworks
- Assessment and evaluation of learning outcomes
- Prebriefing logistics
- Safety, risk mitigation in simulation
- Policy and procedure knowledge
- Documentation, data collection, and feedback loops
- Simulation Modalities
These items assess comfort/confidence with specific modalities or technologies. Topics include:
- Full-scale manikins / high-fidelity simulators
- Task trainers and procedural simulators
- Virtual and Augmented Reality
- Screen-based simulation
- Standardized and simulated patients
- Hybrid or mixed reality
- In-situ simulation
- Interprofessional / intraprofessional simulation
View the new HealthySimulation.com Community Simulation Technology Specialists Group to discuss this topic with your Global Healthcare Simulation peers!
How The SONAT Results Can Be Used During Onboarding
Practical application of the SONAT can improve efficacy and effectiveness of the onboarding process. Healthcare simulation program administrators can use the data from the SONAT to:
- Obtain baseline assessment at hire with the scores in each subscale to identify high-priority domains for each healthcare simulation operations specialists.
- Develop a personalized orientation plan to accelerate or intensify training in the high-priority areas.
- The SONAT can be administered periodically during the orientation process and annually to provide data on changes that have occurred due to growth. This allows administrators to adjust training accordingly.
- Use the SONAT-identified gaps as the basis for a project or mini-goal
- SONAT aggregate data at program level to plan group workshops, shared resources, or common training investments.
Information on the Simulation Educators Needs Assessment Tool (SENAT)
The Simulation Educator Needs Assessment Tool (SENAT) was developed by Britt, Xing, and Leighton (2023) based on a needs assessment and gap analysis for healthcare simulation professional development, the need to provide data regarding the clinical simulation professional needs and desire for improvement, and to assist the creation of a professional development roadmap for simulation programs and/or individual simulation educators. The Healthcare Simulation Standard of Best Practice: Professional Development was used as a foundation for this instrument. The SENAT was designed to assess the needs of educators to inform continuing education and orientation requirements. The validity and reliability on the two subscales with 239 responses; (n= 147 completed). The SENAT has two subscales with good-to-excellent scale reliability (Cronbachโs ฮฑ): Needs = .90 and Simulation Modalities = .81
