RESUMO
While the number of medical schools with simulators is increasing, data pertaining to self-learning is scarce. We conducted a web survey, exploring the ownership and use of simulators at 82 medical schools in Japan; 29 medical schools responded. Twenty-eight of the medical schools owned one or more simulators. Twenty-four allowed undergraduates to engage in self-learning using simulators, and many imposed some restrictions on their use. The medical schools allowed the simulators to be used for a variety of reasons, including “examination preparation,” “improvement of clinical ability,” and “to meet strong demands from students.” Reasons for restriction on use were “equipment management” and “doubts regarding the outcome of self-learning without faculty.” The use of simulators in self-learning is widely supported at medical schools in Japan. In order to optimize self-learning with simulators, appropriate settings and optimal simulator choice should be explored.