Continuous quality improvement is an accepted mandate in healthcare ser vic
es. The delivery of the best, evidence-based quality of care ultimately dep
ends on the competences of practitioners as well as the system that support
s their work. Medical education has been increasingly called upon to insure
providers possess the skills and understanding necessary to fulfill the qu
ality mission. Patient safety has in the past five years rapidly risen to t
he top of the healthcare policy agenda, and been incorporated into quality
initiatives. Demand for curricula in patient safety and transfer of safety
lessons learned in other risky industries have created new responsibilities
for medical educators. Simulation-based medical education will help fill t
hese needs. Simulation offers ethical benefits, increased precision and rel
evance of training and competency assessment, and new methods of teaching e
rror management and safety culture. Established and successful simulation m
ethods such as standardized patients and task trainers are being joined by
newer approaches enabled by improved technology.