The International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research, and Education (INSPIRE) is a collaborative group of pediatric simulation experts, clinicians, educators, investigators, statisticians, human factors researchers, nurses, and many other disciplines who have one common goal and mission. The goal is to improve the lives of children through healthcare simulation. Together, medical simulation experts, clinicians, educators, investigators, statisticians, human factors researchers, and psychologists work to serve as a global community that catalyzes discoveries and promotes collaboration in simulation-based research, scholarship, and innovation. This HealthySimulation.com article will highlight the benefits and contributions of INSPIRE to the global peds simulation community.
History of INSPIRE
The International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research, and Education (INSPIRE) was established in 2011 and built loosely around institutions and researchers who are currently collaborating on multi-center simulation research, as well as those who have completed and/or are awaiting new projects to join. Although INSPIRE was designed to be pediatric, the organization now has members from multiple clinical disciplines, including internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, psychiatry and anesthesiology. Engagement with this group may prove useful for those with research questions relevant to children’s health. Since INSPIRE is a research and project collaborative across the world, there are no fee structures for joining.
At the organization’s core, all members strive to create a collaborative environment with open-sharing of ideas and accessibility between members while breaking down silos. INSPIRE welcomes all novice, intermediate and expert researchers and educators within the field of healthcare simulation to join the organization’s network.
Group members are united in their desire to improve performance, foster innovation, and reduce errors in patient care via rigorous pediatric simulation-based research using all types of simulation tools (computer screen-based simulators, task trainers, human patient simulators, virtual reality, hybrid devices, and standardized patients).
Many INSPIRE members are willing to and have mentored others across the world, as membership is international (North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia) and includes 112 institutions. INSPIRE’s executive committee reviews and approves proposals and develops policies and procedures for the network.
View the HealthySimulation.com Webinar Leading the Future of Peds Simulation with IPSS: The International Pediatric Simulation Society to learn more!
Mission, Vision, and Core Values
The mission of INSPIRE is to catalyze global simulation-based collaborative scholarship to improve pediatric health. The vision is to improve the lives of children through healthcare simulation science. The core values are:
- Community: Strive to create a collaborative environment with open-sharing of ideas and accessibility between members while breaking down silos.
- Discovery: Encourage innovation through healthy risk-taking and challenging the status quo.
- Integrity: Believe in transparency, trust, respect, and high standards for quality in all of our endeavors.
INSPIRE believes in transparency, trust, respect, and high standards for quality across all organizational endeavors, while encouraging innovation through taking risks and challenging the status quo. The network aims to improve the delivery of medical care to acutely ill children by answering important research questions pertaining to resuscitation, technical skills, behavioral skills, debriefing, and simulation-based education as well. Research within INSPIRE or affiliated with INSPIRE encompasses one of two types of simulation-based research described in the organization’s article in Pediatrics (Training and Assessment vs. Healthcare Innovations), which is divided into seven full categories.
View the new HealthySimulation.com Community Simulation Research Group to discuss this topic with your Global Healthcare Simulation peers!
INSPIRE’s Growth to Support Research
Over the years, INSPIRE has taken on a number of collaborations and initiatives to further improve pediatric care through clinical simulation. In 2014, INSPIRE launched a collaborative agreement with the International Simulation Data Registry (ISDR). The ISDR collects and archives outcomes data from Cardiac Arrest, Malignant Hyperthermia, and Difficult Airway simulations for benchmarking, quality improvement, and research purposes.
- INSPIRE Awards: Provide annual funding opportunities for investigators in pediatric simulation-based research. INSPIRE is seeking studies that are both innovative and have strong potential for a positive impact on healthcare delivery.
- Opportunities Award: Up to five proposals focused on smaller research projects for novice investigators, non-physician investigators, investigators from low- and middle-income countries, and INSPIRE members, will be funded for a one-year duration with a maximum of $5,000 USD each.
- Research Award: One proposal for broad research will be funded for a two-year duration with a maximum budget of $15,000 USD total.
IPSS-INSPIRE Fellowship
IPSS and the International Network for Simulation-Based Pediatric Innovation, Research, and Education (INSPIRE) have a goal to build future leaders in pediatric simulation. This IPSS-INSPIRE Fellowship is intended for the novice simulation-enthusiast with an interest in pediatric simulation-based research and education. The fellowship is open to allied health care workers, nurses, doctors, and all health care professionals who wish to become leaders in simulation. The goal of this program is to build future leaders in pediatric simulation across the world. INSPIRE and IPSS are striving to bring the knowledge and skills organization members have gained to the widest possible audience. This is why they created this fellowship to support investigators in their healthcare simulation career, expose them to simulation-related experiences and mentorship to broaden horizons, and promote excellence in education and investigative simulation-based research. Both organizations encourage all members to spread the word to fellow colleagues to apply to take part in this enriching program.
Sim-Based Reporting Guidelines SQUIRE-SIM 2.0
SQUIRE-SIM (Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence for SIMulation)
was published April 2025. These guidelines were available as an epub online ahead of print publication in August 2024.
With increased incorporation of simulation-based methodologies into quality improvement activities, standards for reporting on simulation-specific elements in healthcare improvement research are needed. The team followed established consensus process methodology to iteratively create simulation-based extensions for SQUIRE 2.0 reporting guidelines. Fifteen Steering Committee members, 59 experts in simulation and quality improvement research, and 86 consensus meeting attendees reviewed SQUIRE 2.0 reporting guidelines and ultimately recommended simulation-based reporting guidelines for 22 of the 41 SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines. The team created simulation-based extensions to SQUIRE 2.0 reporting guidelines to improve the quality and standardization of reporting on simulation-specific elements of healthcare improvement research.
The key changes and contributions of SQUIRE-SIM are:
- Simulation-Specific Terminology
- Emphasis on Educational Outcomes and Learning Environments.
- Enhanced Contextual Reporting
- Integration of Debriefing and Reflexivity
- Application to Both Research and Improvement Work
