A Framework for Designing, Implementing, and Sustaining a National Simulation Network Building Incentive-Based Network Structures and Iterative Processes for Long-Term Success: The Case of the Medical Council of Canada's Qualifying Examination, Part II

The use of networks for sharing and distributing information, for institutional collaboration, and action programs is commonplace. In 1989, the Medical Council of Canada began the implementation of a national clinical licensing examination to assess physicians for practice skills and decision making using standardized or simulated patients in an Objective Structured Clinical Examination format. Once fully implemented, the examination was administered through a network of medical schools at 16 locations across Canada in two languages twice yearly. That network has functioned successfully for 17 years. This article reviews the literature and examines the reasons and incentives for the long-term sustainability of the network. Based on that assessment, a framework is presented for analyzing, designing, and sustaining a national simulation network. It emphasizes the need for an iterative approach and identifies the success factors that can facilitate the adoption of a national simulation network for use in professional credentialing and licensure. (Sim Healthcare 6:94-100, 2011)