“If we don’t teach learners to recognize how they feel in that moment and to develop adaptive ways of managing those emotions, then we’re not really preparing them.” Says Vicky Leblanc Chair & Professor at Depart of Innovation in Medical Education; University of Ottawa. How do emotions shape learning in high-pressure environments? Should stress be avoided or embraced? In this insightful episode, we speak with Vicky Leblanc, expert in emotion regulation in simulation-based medical education, about the critical role emotions play in training healthcare professionals, first responders, and law enforcement. “Safe is not soft; we can challenge learners while ensuring they feel supported.( V. Le Blanc)”
We explore:
✅ The difference between stress and emotions—and why both matter in training
✅ How to identify and regulate emotions for better learning outcomes
✅ Psychological safety vs. productive discomfort—finding the right balance
✅ Practical strategies for simulation facilitators to support learners
✅ The power of self-regulation, task regulation, and co-regulation in crisis situations
Whether you’re a trainer, facilitator, or frontline professional, this episode will transform the way you approach simulation and learning under pressure. 🎧 Tune in now and learn how to harness emotions—not suppress them—to create better, stronger, and more resilient professionals.
Chronological Summary with Quotes
Introduction to Emotions in Simulation
“Emotions are essential signals preparing us to react and make decisions.”
Understanding how emotions affect attention, decision-making, and learning.
Stress vs. Emotion: Are They the Same?
“I tend to link stress and emotions because we can approach them similarly in training.”
Exploring the debate on whether stress is separate from emotions and its impact on learning.
How Emotions Arise in Simulation
“Social evaluative stress—being observed and judged—is one of the most powerful stressors.”
How scenarios trigger emotions like anxiety, frustration, or sadness.
Recognizing and Identifying Emotions in Learners
“The first step to managing emotions is identifying them—whether through facial expressions, voice patterns, or direct questions.”
Techniques for simulation facilitators to detect emotional responses.
Emotional Regulation Strategies
“It’s not about getting rid of emotions but ensuring they are aligned with learning.”
Implicit (emotion contagion) vs. explicit (reframing, modulation) strategies to support learners.
Dealing with Intense Emotional Reactions
“If we don’t teach learners to manage their emotions, we’re not truly preparing them.”
When to intervene and when to let emotions run their course in a learning environment.
The Role of Psychological Safety
“Safe is not soft; we can challenge learners while ensuring they feel supported.”
How to balance emotional activation with creating a trusting learning environment.
Applying This to Simulation Debriefing
“Recognizing emotions in the debrief isn’t about therapy—it’s about making emotions part of learning.”
How debriefing frameworks like PEARLS help structure emotional discussions.
Emotions Beyond Individual Reactions – Team Dynamics
“Co-regulation in teams is critical—leaders must set the emotional tone.”
The importance of group emotional regulation in high-pressure environments.
Future Directions in Emotional Regulation Training
“We need to move beyond stress exposure to emotion regulation training as a core part of simulation.”
Plans to integrate emotion regulation as a structured learning objective.
Quotes
“Emotions are essentially signals or states that your body uses to sort of prepare you to react to something or motivate you to do something.”
“Emotions have a lot of components, right? They have cognitive components, you have thoughts, you have feelings that you’re aware of, they’ll have physiological patterns, they’ll have behavioral patterns.”
“A lot of the time, we try to trigger, we try to develop something that’s right at the edge of their knowledge or their competencies, and so that necessarily brings a lot of emotions.”
“We are doing stress exposure training. We are going to do emotional activation training so that you can recognize that.”
“One of the reactions that you have with stress is anxiety, right? And anxiety is an emotion.”
“The first step to managing emotions is identifying them—whether through facial expressions, voice patterns, or direct questions.”
“Recognizing emotions in the debrief isn’t about therapy—it’s about making emotions part of learning.”
“If we don’t teach learners to recognize how they feel in that moment and to develop adaptive ways of managing those emotions, then we’re not really preparing them.”
“Safe is not soft; we can challenge learners while ensuring they feel supported.”
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