We sought to assess the impact of procedural skills simulation training on residents’ competence in performing critical resuscitation skills. Our study was a prospective, cross-sectional study of residents from three residency training programs (Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine) at the University of Calgary. Participants completed a survey measuring competence in the performance of the procedural skills required to manage hemodynamic instability. The study intervention was an 8 hour simulation based training program focused on resuscitation procedure psychomotor skill acquisition. Competence was criterion validated at the Right Internal Jugular Central Venous Catheter Insertion station by an expert observer using a standardized checklist (Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) format). At the completion of the simulation course participants repeated the self-assessment survey. Descriptive Statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Paired Sample t-test statistical tools were applied to the analyze the data.
Thirty-five of 37 residents (9 FRCPC Emergency Medicine, 4 CCFP-Emergency Medicine, 17 CCFP, and 5 Internal Medicine) completed both survey instruments and the eight hour course. Seventy-two percent of participants were PGY-1 or 2. Mean age was 30.7 years of age. Cronbach’s alpha for the survey instrument was 0.944. Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient was 0.69 (p < 0.001) for relationship between Expert Assessment and Self-Assessment. The mean improvement in competence score pre- to post-intervention was 6.77 (p < 0.01, 95% CI 5.23-8.32).
Residents from a variety of training programs (Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine) demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in competence with critical resuscitation procedural skills following an intensive simulation based training program. Self-assessment of competence was validated using correlation data based on expert assessments.
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Teaching Quality Improvement in Emergency Medicine Training Programs: A Review of Best Practices