Assessing Satisfaction in Simulation Among Medical Students: Psychometric Validation of the Italian Version of the Satisfaction with Simulation Experience Scale

Background: Simulation-based education (SBE) is increasingly integrated into medical curricula to enhance clinical reasoning, reflective practice, and experiential learning in safe educational environments. Evaluating learners’ satisfaction is essential to assess the educational impact of simulation activities. Although the Satisfaction with Simulation Experience Scale (SSE) has been internationally validated, no robust psychometric validation has been conducted among Italian medical students. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the SSE (SSE-It). Methods: A cross-sectional psychometric validation study was conducted with 408 third-year medical students enrolled at a Northern Italian university after participation in a mandatory simulation internship on introductory ultrasound. Participants completed the Italian adaptation of the 18-item SSE, rated on a 5-point Likert scale and organized into three domains: Debriefing and Reflection, Clinical Reasoning, and Clinical Learning. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega coefficients. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to examine the factorial structure of the scale. Results: CFA supported the original three-factor structure of the SSE-ITA, showing good fit indices: χ2(132) = 410.67 (WLSMV-scaled), CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.07, and SRMR = 0.05. Internal consistency was high for the total scale (α = 0.94; ω = 0.95) and satisfactory across subscales (α ranging from 0.84 to 0.92; ω ranging from 0.86 to 0.93). Conclusions: The SSE-It demonstrated satisfactory reliability and construct validity in this task-trainer-based, introductory ultrasound simulation context, supporting its use as a reliable instrument to assess satisfaction with this type of simulation-based education among Italian medical students. Generalizability to high-fidelity, immersive simulation modalities remains to be established.