**2. Development and validation of simulators**

The ideal simulator should have a significant educational impact, improve subsequent performance in the operating room, shorten the procedural learning curve and subsequently increase patient safety. For novices, it should offer a realistic introduction to basic technical skills, allowing part-task training, while becoming increasingly procedure-specific and patient-specific for the more experienced operator [6].

Simulators must be rigorously evaluated across a number of parameters before they can be used for training and assessment. Validity is a measure of the extent a simulator succeeds in teaching the skill for which it was designed [7]. An ideal simulator would perform well in all of the following aspects of validity [8];


With the increased pressure on healthcare expenditure and efficiency, the importance of independent and robust validation is critical to ensure that resources are invested in simulator platforms that provide the highest levels of educational impact [9].
