Simulation-Based Trauma-Informed Care Education Instills Empathy and Improves Clinician Practices Towards Refugee and Migrant Populations

Date of Review: October, 2025

This resource offers a simulation-based curriculum designed to teach trauma-informed care (TIC) to healthcare trainees and professionals working with refugee and migrant populations. Participants engage in clinical encounters that emphasize empathy, cultural sensitivity, and the recognition of trauma’s impact on health and behavior for this population. The sessions take place in an academic training environment and include structured debriefing discussions that encourage reflection and connection to practice. Within the broader curriculum, this program fits naturally into efforts to strengthen communication skills and cultural competency across health professions education. Key strengths of this resource include its experiential format, which allows learners to apply TIC principles in a hands-on and emotionally engaging way; its focus on empathy and patient-centered care; and its clear relevance to a growing and often underserved patient population. The inclusion of assessment data demonstrating improvements in clinician attitudes and reported behaviors shows practical value. A potential limitation is the resource-intensive nature of simulation-based teaching, which may pose challenges for institutions with limited faculty time or training infrastructure. Overall, this is a well-designed and meaningful educational intervention that effectively promotes empathy and trauma-informed practice among clinicians. –Noah Lybik, MD, NCEAS

Corresponding Author’s Email:

palnatm@amc.edu

Institution:

Albany Medical College

Where was the Curriculum Implemented:

United States

Relevant Specialty:

Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine

Outcomes that Have Been Reported for the Curriculum:

Measured learner attitude

Self-reported learner knowledge

Measured in learner knowledge

Outcome and Study Design:

Pre/Post

Level of Learner Assessment

Knowledge Acquisition (MCQ, IRAT, GRAT)