Let’s look at the different types of evaluations that are found within SimCapture Cloud Pro, Enterprise, and Enterprise with Exam System, how they work, what they are best used for and how they enhance the SimCapture experience.  

Things to know before you begin

Evaluations are available to be created by System Admins and Admin level users only.  

SimCapture Cloud Pro

Reflection evaluation

A limited evaluation form with few options such as not being able to include media file, the Reflection evaluation is intended for the learner to complete as it is used only for collecting learner feedback. This evaluation is only for text-based questions and no points are associated with this evaluation type. It is not for grading and no scoring rubric can be attached. Additionally, a recording (session) is required to trigger this evaluation to be delivered to the corresponding, associated student’s home page/portfolio once the event is complete.

For more information about the Reflection evaluation, see SimCapture Enterprise and Pro: How to create a scenario.

SimCapture Cloud Enterprise

Before Session evaluation

The Before Session evaluation associated at the Scenario level, is intended for learners to receive and complete, is often used to provide information such as Sim center orientation (a recorded video or simple directions), showcase materials specific to the simulation activity the learner will be involved in and/or to get learner feedback prior to them being recorded.  

This evaluation type requires that an event reservation using this evaluation be scheduled on the calendar. Once scheduled, the evaluation can either be completed any time before the reservation date/time passes, or a date can be set to determine how many days prior to that scheduled event reservation to make the evaluation available. Once the reservation date is reached, if not previously completed, the evaluation will be submitted and is no longer available in the participant portfolio. If no retraction time is set, the evaluation will stay in the portfolio of the learner until it is submitted.

Additionally, this evaluation type can have a scoring rubric associated with it.  

Be mindful that this evaluation type is not part of the exam flow and is not associated with the tray application within the control/exam interface.

Before Session EMR evaluation

The Before Session EMR shares many of the same characteristics of the above Before Session evaluation; it is associated at the Scenario level, requires an event reservation to be scheduled for issuance to occur, and can be configured to auto-submits as needed. It also allows for the association of scoring rubrics.

A main difference between the Before Session EMR and Before Session evaluation, is that the Before Session EMR is more of an interactive but informational evaluation type. While it is most typically used to help learners with the process of filling out an EMR, intaking patient history before an encounter, or editing an EMR based on new data, it is itself a non-scored evaluation (any scoring of a Before Session EMR would come via scoring rubric completion). 

After Session evaluation

The After Session evaluation associated at the Scenario level, is intended for learners to receive, and complete following a recorded session. As such, once a recorded session takes place the associated learners will receive this evaluation within their portfolio. Learners must be associated with the recorded session at recording time to trigger the After Session evaluation to be sent to their portfolios. A retraction time can be set to determine how many days after the session is recorded to make this evaluation no longer available to complete. If no retraction time is set, the evaluation will stay in the portfolio of the learner until it is submitted.  

This evaluation type can be for feedback or multiple choice with a grade applied. A Scoring rubric can be associated if needed for reviewing/grading text responses.

When using a Standardized Patient scenario type, be mindful that this evaluation type is not part of the exam flow and is not associated with the tray application within the control/exam interface.

After Session EMR evaluation

The After Session EMR shares many of the same characteristics of the above After Session evaluation; it is associated at the Scenario level, requires a completed session for issuance to occur, and can be configured to auto-retract as needed. It also allows for the association of scoring rubrics.

A main difference between the After Session EMR and After Session evaluation, is that the After Session EMR is more of an interactive but informational evaluation type. While it is most typically used to help learners with the process of completing an EMR, intaking patient history following an encounter, or editing an EMR based on new data learned during an encounter, it is itself a non-scored evaluation (any scoring of an After Session EMR would come via scoring rubric completion).  

Course level evaluation

Associated at the course level of Enterprise and Enterprise + Exam System clients and assigned (released or retracted) by using the course agenda/calendar, this evaluation is typically used for sharing information up front about the course as a whole or when looking for student feedback about the entirety of the course.  

While it is not tied to any specific session/recording, to ensure that this evaluation reaches its destination, a course must be started and not left in development status.  

Be mindful that this evaluation type is not part of the exam flow and is not associated with the tray application within the control/exam interface. 

Additionally, a scoring rubric cannot be associated with this type of evaluation.

Standalone Scenario evaluation

The Standalone Scenario evaluation applies strictly to a particular scenario, and is not tied to any recorded sessions. While there is no time limit on when it needs to be completed, this evaluation must be assigned using the course agenda/calendar. A Scoring rubric can be associated if needed.

Be mindful that this evaluation type is not part of the exam flow and is not associated with the tray application within the control/exam interface.

For more information about the Standalone evaluation, see SimCapture Enterprise: How to create and assign a Standalone evaluation for a scenario.

Administrator evaluation

Considered a live-or-debrief evaluation and specific to Simulator scenarios, the Administrator evaluation can be completed during a live event or after the recording is complete to grade/provide feedback on the respective learners. More than one Administrator evaluation can be created for a single scenario.

This evaluation type allows you to apply different grades to different learners if there is more than one learner participating within a single recorded session which provides the user with the option to award team grades vs. individual learner grades. A team evaluation is selected by the administrator and applies to all learners in a session. Once a team evaluation is completed, individual evaluations for a specific learner cannot be done with the same evaluation in the same session.

Be mindful that this evaluation is not run within the control/exam interface but instead run from the home page/dashboard one room at a time.

Scoring Rubrics

Available to apply a grade to text answers such as student exam flow, before session, after session, standalone scenario evaluations, and EMR. The Scoring rubric must be assigned and can be pre-assigned prior to students completing the corresponding checklists for which grading is required, or the Scoring rubric can be assigned later but it must be assigned, and the parent evaluation must be completed before the scoring rubric can appear for the respective graders.

Commonly used to assign faculty/instructors for grading purposes, the Scoring rubric gives the option to allow students to grade each other (though you will designate the exact student grading each submitted evaluation) and allows students to self-grade.  

Be mindful that the Scoring rubric can be applied to Before Session, After Session, Standalone Scenario, Student Exam Flow, and EMR but not to course level evaluations, reflections or any evaluation type that is already expected to be a direct grading tool such as the Administrator or Monitor evaluation.

For more information about the Scoring rubric, see SimCapture Enterprise: How to create and use scoring rubrics.

SimCapture Cloud Enterprise with Exam System

The evaluations in this section apply to those using the exam system with multi-room configuration and the tray application.

Learner Evaluation Flow Door Notes 

Specific to exam flows and the control/exam interface, the Learner Evaluation Flow Door Notes allows for information about the encounter to be communicated and acknowledged by the student prior to beginning a simulation. Door notes can contain such information such as age, vitals, medical history, or simulation expectations.

The Course Exam Flow creation determines if the Door Note appears and will always appear on the student tray application when enabled.

Be mindful that this evaluation is part of a rigid predetermined exam flow and configured prior to the event. It cannot appear at any other time for the learner to fill out.

To learn more about the Learner Evaluation Flow Door Notes, see SimCapture Enterprise with Exam System: How to set up exam flows and use EMR forms.

Exam EMR

Currently only available with standardized patient (SP) scenarios and used through the control/exam interface, the Exam EMR, which can be pre-filled by the instructor, is typically used to get students accustomed to filling out documents on a computer while facing/interacting with a patient. This evaluation will appear following the door note phase (if selected) and before the encounter on the learner interface. Once the encounter/session has begun, the EMR will show on the patient interface in the exam room so the learner can continue to interact with it. Following the encounter with the patient, the EMR will show as a second tab on the learner computer if a student exam flow (post encounter checklist) is also selected to be completed as part of the flow during that same phase of the event time.

The Information in this evaluation translates from one stage to another with the final appearance being on the learner station following the encounter.

Be mindful that as an option, as it will flow through and appear on the in-room computer, the initial EMR form can have prefilled information included by the instructor as part of the setup/preparation for this simulation flow, but the student completes it/fills the evaluation out in the event during the encounter stage.

(Post Encounter) Patient/Learner evaluation flow

Specific to exam flows and the control/exam interface, the Post-Encounter Patient/Learner evaluation flow usually contains many multiple-choice questions pertaining to the student’s competency during their encounter/simulation and the patient’s condition. SOAP notes are part of this evaluation as it allows the user to define subjective observation, objective observation, assessment, and plan for the patient.  

The tray application determines where and when these evaluations will show up on either the in-room patient computer, or learner computer outside of the room following the encounter stage.  

Be mindful that this evaluation is part of a rigid predetermined exam flow and configured prior to the event. The Standardized Patient or learner should complete this evaluation directly following the encounter utilizing the appropriate assigned computer. Once submitted, these evaluations are considered “complete” and are not editable again by the participant. An Admin level user will have access to adjust this evaluation form from the session list later if needed, if something unexpected occurs.

To learn more about the Post-Encounter Patient Exam Flow evaluation, see SimCapture Enterprise with Exam System: How to set up exam flows and use EMR forms.

Monitor evaluation

The Monitor evaluation assumes a grade is being applied and the expectation is for an instructor/faculty member to fill this form out while observing the live session. Students do not complete these types of evaluations. This evaluation type is specific to the Standardized Patient scenario type run through the control/exam interface and does not allow you to grade learners individually if there are multiple learners involved in a single recorded session and instead the learners are graded as a team who all receive one/same score.  

Standardized Patients can function as monitors if given this permission at course level within the people pod. This allows the lead SPs or SP educators to perform inter-rater consistency checklists to evaluate SP performance and for professional development purposes. The field reads Allow SPs to Monitor.

A Monitor evaluation can be completed by one instructor while a different, additional evaluation for the same session can also be completed by a different instructor. However, the score applied cannot be differentiated between learners if more than one learner participates in the single session being monitored. With the Monitor evaluation, multiple learners in a single session all receive the same score.

Be mindful, that a new feature was recently added to allow monitors extra time to finish completing a Monitor evaluation live in a separate tab while students rotate and prepare for the next event. It also gives graders the option to complete the evaluation later from within the home page/portfolio. However, the evaluation must have been started during the live stage for these two options to be presented.

For more information about the Monitor evaluation, see SimCapture Enterprise with Exam System: Working with the monitor evaluation.