Convictions, applications and observable behaviors
Design for understanding. Train for recall. Assemble for response.
A public institutional document that brings together the criteria that should guide REASEL's clinical, educational, organizational and technological decisions.
This is not a clinical protocol or an operational manual.
REASEL-PRI-001 · Version 1.0 · July 2026 · Public institutional document
Institutional lead: Dr. Rafael Eduardo Herrera Elizalde
How to use these principles
The REASEL Principles distill the Foundational Document, the Public Manifesto, the REASEL Method and the Institutional Framework into usable criteria. Their purpose is to maintain coherence: every program, partnership, material, process or development bearing the REASEL name must be able to demonstrate that it respects these principles.
- Core statement
- The brief formulation that should be easy to remember and communicate.
- What it means
- The conviction supporting the principle and the problem it seeks to avoid.
- Application
- How the principle translates into design, training or management.
- Observable behavior
- The evidence that allows us to verify that the principle is fulfilled.
Rule for use
When two decisions compete, prefer the one that better protects the patient, the learner, methodological quality, traceability and the system's ability to learn.
These principles do not replace clinical protocols, operational manuals, contracts, legal rules or up-to-date evidence. When a contradiction arises, apply the more protective rule and escalate the decision to the appropriate institutional level.
01 · Resuscitation is applied physiology.
- What it means
- Every maneuver must relate to a cause, a variable, a response and a clinical purpose. Chest compressions, ventilation, defibrillation and drug administration are not acts of faith.
- Application
- The team interprets monitoring, ventilation, rhythm, context and response to decide whether an intervention works and what must change.
- Observable behavior
- Decisions are justified by clinical and physiological data; after intervening, the team observes again and adjusts.
02 · The algorithm guides; context decides.
- What it means
- Algorithms provide a shared map, but do not replace judgment. In special situations, physiology serves as a compass and context defines the terrain.
- Application
- Recommendations are adapted to the likely mechanism, monitoring, position, procedure, resources and risks present.
- Observable behavior
- The team can explain why it follows, modifies or prioritizes an action without losing safety or a shared language.
03 · We design for human fallibility.
- What it means
- Experience reduces risks, but does not eliminate fatigue, distraction, pressure, bias, cognitive overload or error. Safety cannot require perfect professionals.
- Application
- Early activations, checklists, cognitive aids, cross-checks, explicit roles and rescue mechanisms are used.
- Observable behavior
- The system can detect and correct an individual's omission before it becomes irreversible harm.
04 · Safety is a property of the system.
- What it means
- A reliable system does not depend on one person remembering everything, arriving on time or retaining absolute control. It distributes functions, preserves information and escalates exceptions.
- Application
- Critical processes can be activated without waiting for individual initiative; they are redundant, traceable and resilient to interruptions, repeated execution and partial failures.
- Observable behavior
- The team knows who does what, how it is verified, what happens if something fails and where it is recorded for review.
05 · We do not train isolated heroes; we train teams that work.
- What it means
- Leadership is necessary, but several people competing to lead increase noise and leave tasks unattended. The patient must not depend on an exceptional hero.
- Application
- Each member learns when to lead, when to support, when to question and when to perform a specific function with excellence.
- Observable behavior
- Critical tasks are completed without duplication or abandonment; support strengthens leadership rather than competing with it.
06 · Information must become shared understanding.
- What it means
- In a crisis, no individual possesses the entire clinical reality. Information is distributed across professions, devices, spaces and moments.
- Application
- Training includes closed-loop communication, explicit requests, confirmations, updating the mental model and timely transfer of critical findings.
- Observable behavior
- Relevant information reaches whoever can turn it into a decision; the team expresses a shared priority and acts in coordination.
07 · We teach for recall and execution under pressure.
- What it means
- Understanding content does not guarantee access to it during a crisis. Education must build retrieval pathways that work as stress increases.
- Application
- Relevance, reduced extraneous load, multimodal encoding, valid analogies, active retrieval and spaced consolidation are integrated.
- Observable behavior
- The participant recognizes patterns, verbalizes reasoning and applies knowledge in new scenarios without relying on an immediate explanation.
08 · Competence is built, observed and maintained.
- What it means
- A certificate attests to a process, but does not demonstrate reliable performance months later. Competence requires practice, measurement, feedback and reactivation.
- Application
- Complex capabilities are broken into components, trained precisely, progressively assembled and reactivated through micropractice.
- Observable behavior
- Performance is assessed using defined behaviors and metrics; errors decrease after correction and repetition.
09 · Simulation standardizes conditions, not responses.
- What it means
- Learning loses value when it depends on chance or instructor improvisation. Nor should it become a rigid theatrical production.
- Application
- REASEL uses prebriefing, structured roles, embedded participants, asymmetric information, triggers and limits known to the teaching team.
- Observable behavior
- Different groups face the same architecture of difficulty while retaining the freedom to decide, communicate and develop solutions.
10 · Respecting the learner means designing every detail.
- What it means
- Adults do not automatically owe the instructor their attention. Relevance must be built, and the vulnerability of simulation must never become humiliation, spectacle or punishment.
- Application
- Objectives, materials, timing, breaks, logistics, psychological safety, feedback and assessment criteria are prepared before welcoming the participant.
- Observable behavior
- The experience is demanding, safe, consistent and dignified; when the design fails, the teaching team acknowledges it, stops and corrects it.
11 · Every crisis must produce learning.
- What it means
- An event that ends without review loses clinical, human and organizational information. Learning is not about finding someone to blame, but about reconstructing decisions and conditions.
- Application
- Debriefing explores reactions, facts, reasoning, information flow, barriers, outcomes and verifiable commitments.
- Observable behavior
- The review concludes with actions, assigned owners, follow-up and verifiable changes before the next event.
12 · Quality comes before growth.
- What it means
- Expansion, partnerships and economic sustainability are legitimate when they solve real problems. Reach never justifies diluting method, supervision or traceability.
- Application
- Programs, instructors and centers advance through explicit criteria for competence, authorization, version control and continuous evaluation.
- Observable behavior
- An opportunity is stopped or redesigned when the system cannot preserve the REASEL standard, even if demand or immediate profitability exists.
REASEL coherence criterion
Before approving a decision, program, partnership, technology or change to the method, REASEL must be able to answer clearly:
Does this decision help us understand better, retrieve knowledge under pressure, coordinate the team and protect the patient?
If the answer is unclear, the decision is not yet sufficiently designed. If it contradicts any principle, it must be corrected, limited or stopped before the REASEL name is used.
Minimum coherence test
- Patient
- Does the decision protect safety, dignity and the possibility of a better outcome?
- Learner
- Is the experience relevant, prepared, demanding and respectful?
- Method
- Does it preserve objectives, sequence, evidence, redundancy and traceability?
- Team
- Does it improve coordination, shared information and execution of roles?
- Evidence
- Does it distinguish rules, inference, experience, opinion and original proposals?
- Growth
- Does reach increase without diluting quality, supervision or responsibility?
REASEL · understand · recall · coordinate · protect
Related documents: Documento Fundacional REASEL v0.3; Manifiesto Público REASEL v1.0; Método REASEL v0.1; Marco Institucional REASEL v1.0.