HISTORY OF SIMULATION

History of Simulation

History of Simulation

Overview of Simulation

Medical education evolved during the 1900s from a simple apprenticeship to incorporating the learning of scientific principles and, finally, to demanding objective measures of competence in the domains of knowledge, skills, and behaviors. Practice as a key component of learning and maintenance of skills is fundamental in many disciplines, especially music and mathematics (Satava, 2001, 32).

Medical education has only recently applied the concept of deliberate practice to the acquisition and retention of medical skills. The introduction of human patient simulation toward the end of the 20th century was a major step in the evolution of health sciences education (Satava, 2001, 33). “The history of technologic innovation is the history of tortuous paths which advances often take to acceptance” (Satava, 2001, 34). Many great ideas are ignored or dismissed only to be rediscovered at a future date with better understanding and acceptance. There are 3 major reasons for slow progress: skepticism, lack of communication, and the burden of proof (Satava, 2001, 35). These factors have contributed to the delayed acceptance of medical simulation. Despite the fact that many simulation modalities were described in some form almost 50 years ago, widespread acceptance of standardized patients (SPs), virtual reality (VR), and mannequins has only occurred in the past decade (Smith, 2000, 52).

History of nonmedical simulation

The first powered flight occurred in 1903. Edwin Link, the inventor of the first flight simulator, was born a year later. Link took his first flying lesson in 1920. In 1928, he bought his first airplane—a Cessna AA-and a year later built and patented a prototype “blue box” flight trainer, believing that there must be an easier, safer, and less expensive way to learn how to fly. Initially, the Link trainer was a popular amusement park ride. Link opened his own flying school in 1930 to demonstrate the educational value of his trainer (Gaba, 1992, 91).

In 1934, after several catastrophic and fatal accidents due to poor visibility, the Army purchased 6 Link trainers to improve training (Gaba, 1992, 92). Military needs during World War II increased orders for the trainer throughout the world and spurred other Link inventions: the Celestial Navigation Trainer, a bomber crew trainer, and the first airplane-specific model. During the 1950s, Link Aviation merged with General Precision Equipment Corporation (GPE) (Gaba, 1992, 93).

In 1955, civil aviation embraced simulation technology; and the Federal Aviation Administration required simulation recertification to maintain commercial pilots' licenses. The birth of analog computers in the 1950s increased the complexity and realism of flight simulation, in the 1960s, GPE (under the guidance of Link) used analog and digital computers to develop the Gemini simulators in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Replacement of analog computer systems by digital systems improved flight modeling (Gaba, 1992, 94). The Apollo simulators were the first fully digital products.

A second merger with Singer in 1970 further expanded the focus of Link Aviation to include power plant simulators and computer imaging (Ericcson, 2004, ...