From bricks to buildings: adapting the Medical Research Council framework to develop programs of research in simulation education and training for the health professions.

Presently, health care simulation research is largely conducted on a study-by-study basis. Although such "project-based" research generates a plethora of evidence, it can be chaotic and contradictory. A move toward sustained, thematic, theory-based programs of research is necessary to advance knowledge in the field.