Introduction: Simulation-based education is integral to modern medical training, supporting technical skills, clinical decision-making, and professional behaviours across multiple health professions. Despite widespread implementation, centralized simulation centres often experience underutilisation of equipment due to limited awareness of available resources and their pedagogical applicability.
Aim: This study presents a structured framework for mapping simulation equipment to academic departments, aiming to support wider and more strategic use of simulators across multiple faculties and to unlock their full educational potential.
Materials and Methods: The official academic structure of the Medical University of Varna serves as the mapping reference. Two experienced faculty members independently map each simulator to one or more departments based on intended application, curricular alignment, and complexity, resolving disagreements through consensus. A secure web-based platform with hierarchical filters documents departmental associations. Multidisciplinary coverage is assessed across categories and individual simulators using descriptive statistics such as counts and percentages.
Results: The database includes 44 simulators, covering 71.7% of academic departments. Basic task trainers predominate, reflecting the foundational role of controlled, safe environments for acquiring essential clinical skills. Most simulators (93.18%) are linked to multiple departments, demonstrating substantial multidisciplinary potential and opportunities for interprofessional training.
Conclusion: By explicitly associating simulators with relevant departments, the mapping framework improves visibility and provides teaching staff with clearer guidance for educational use. It supports broader and more flexible integration of simulation resources, facilitates interdisciplinary learning across professional groups, and enables institutions to optimise utilisation without additional infrastructure investment.
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