scholarly journals Evaluation of the feasibility and impacts of in situ simulation in emergency medicine—a mixed-method study protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e040360
Author(s):  
Jennifer Truchot ◽  
Valérie Boucher ◽  
Éliane Raymond-Dufresne ◽  
Christian Malo ◽  
Éric Brassard ◽  
...  

IntroductionIn situ simulation (ISS) consists of performing a simulation in the everyday working environment with the usual team members. The feasibility of ISS in emergency medicine is an important research question, because ISS offers the possibility for repetitive, regular simulation training consistent with specific local needs. However, ISS also raises the issue of safety, since it might negatively impact the care of other patients in the emergency department (ED). Our hypothesis is that ISS in an academic high-volume ED is feasible, safe and associated with benefits for both staff and patients.MethodsA mixed-method, including a qualitative method for the assessment of feasibility and acceptability and a quantitative method for the assessment of patients’ safety and participants’ psychosocial risks, will be used in this study.Two distinct phases are planned in the ED of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval (Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus) between March 2021 and October 2021. Phase 1: an ISS programme will be implemented with selected ED professionals to assess its acceptability and safety and prove the validity of our educational concept. The number of cancelled sessions and the reasons for cancellation will be collected to establish feasibility criteria. Semistructured interviews will evaluate the acceptability of the intervention. We will compare unannounced and announced ISS. Phase 2: the impact of the ISS programme will be measured with validated questionnaires for the assessment of psychosocial risks, self-confidence and perceived stress among nonselected ED professionals, with comparison between those exposed to ISS and those that were not.Ethics and disseminationThe CHU de Québec-Université Laval Research ethics board has approved this protocol (#2020–5000). Results will be presented to key professionals from our institution to improve patient safety. We also aim to publish our results in peer-reviewed journals and will submit abstracts to international conferences to disseminate our findings.

CJEM ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (S1) ◽  
pp. S63-S63
Author(s):  
C. Poulin ◽  
B. Weitzman ◽  
G. Mastoras ◽  
L. Norman ◽  
A. Pozgay ◽  
...  

Introduction / Innovation Concept: During Emergency Department (ED) resuscitation of critically ill patients, effective teamwork and communication among various healthcare professionals is essential to ensure favorable patient outcomes and to minimize threats to patient safety. However, numerous individual and system factors create barriers to effective team functioning. Simulation center- based training has been used to improve Crisis Resource Management skills among physician and nursing trainees, but in-situ simulation is a relatively new concept in adult Emergency Medicine in North America. Methods: To enhance patient care and team effectiveness, an ED nursing and physician group was created to develop and implement a novel interprofessional in-situ simulation program in two Canadian, academic tertiary-care emergency departments. Departmental approval and financial support was obtained and sessions commenced in January 2015. Curriculum, Tool, or Material: Monthly high-fidelity simulation sessions are held in the ED resuscitation rooms at both campuses of our hospital. Each session is facilitated and debriefed by simulation-trained Emergency Medicine faculty and senior residents, a nurse educator and a research assistant. Technical support is provided by our simulation center staff. Participants are recruited from the physicians, residents, nurses, respiratory therapists and other support staff working in the ED. To minimize the impact on patient care, two additional nurses are scheduled to cover nursing assignments on “sim days”. Simulations are limited to fifteen minutes, followed by a twenty minute debriefing. Conclusion: We have successfully developed and implemented an interprofessional in-situ simulation program in our ED. Participant feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Lack of financial support, reluctance of staff to participate, and overwhelmed resources are some of the challenges to running a program like this in a busy ED environment. However, there are clear benefits: empowering team members, culture change, identification of latent safety threats, and a perception of improved teamwork and communication.


Author(s):  
Harry Bateman ◽  
Karen Johnston ◽  
Andrew Badacsonyi ◽  
Natalie Clarke ◽  
Kathleen Conneally ◽  
...  

This North London hospital has a 14-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU). As a small District General ICU, staff exposure to emergency scenarios can be infrequent. Lack of practice can lead to a reduction in staff confidence and knowledge when these scenarios are encountered, especially during the COVID pandemic. The ICU had not previously undertaken in situ multi-disciplinary team (MDT) simulation sessions on the unit.The aim of the study was to introduce a novel programme of MDT simulation sessions in the ICU and provide feedback with the aim of increasing both staff confidence in managing emergency scenarios and staff understanding of the impact of human factors.A team of ICU Simulation Champions created emergency scenarios that could occur in the ICU. Pre-simulation and post-simulation questionnaires were produced to capture staff opinion on topics including benefits and barriers to simulation training and confidence in managing ICU emergencies. Members of the ICU MDT would be selected to participate in simulation scenarios. Afterwards, debrief sessions would be facilitated by Simulation Champions and Airline Pilots with a particular focus on competence in managing the emergency and human factors elements, such as communication and leadership. Participants would then be surveyed with the post-simulation questionnaire.Nine simulation sessions were conducted between October 2020 and June 2021. The sessions occurred within the ICU during the working day in a designated bay with the availability of all standard ICU resources and involved multiple MDT members to aid fidelity. Feedback by Simulation Champions mainly focussed on knowledge related to the ICU emergency, whilst the Airline Pilots provided expert feedback on human factors training. Fifty-five staff members completed the pre-simulation questionnaire and 37 simulation participants completed the post-simulation questionnaire. Prior to simulation participation, 28.3% of respondents agreed they felt confident managing emergency scenarios on ICU – this figure increased to 54.1% following simulation participation. 94.4% of simulation participants agreed that their knowledge of human factors had improved following the simulation and 100% of participants wanted further simulation teaching. Figure 1 shows a thematic analysis of the responses from 31 participants who were questioned about perceived benefits from simulation teaching. Following the success of the programme, the Hospital Trust will continue to support and develop inter-speciality and inter-professional training, and have funded the appointment of an ICU Simulation Fellow to continue to lead and enhance future in situ simulation teaching on the ICU.


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Montauban ◽  
Charannya Balakumar ◽  
Jaideep Rait ◽  
Prizzi Zarsadias ◽  
Sara Iqbal ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Effective training is vital when facing viral outbreaks such as the SARS Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak of 2019. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of in-situ simulation on the confidence of the surgical teams of two hospitals in assessing and managing acutely unwell surgical patients who are high-risk or confirmed to have COVID-19. Methods This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design. The surgical teams at each hospital participated in multi-disciplinary simulation sessions to explore the assessment and management of a patient requiring emergency surgery who is high risk for COVID-19. The participants were surveyed before and after receiving simulation training to determine their level of confidence on a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for the premise stated in each of the nine questions in the survey, which represented multiple aspects of the care of these patients. Results 27 participants responded the pre-simulation survey and 24 the one post-simulation. The level of confidence (VAS score) were statistically significantly higher for all nine questions after the simulation. Specific themes were identified for further training and changes in policy. Conclusion In-situ simulation is an effective training method. Its versatility allows it to be set up quickly as rapid-response training in the face of an imminent threat. In this study, it improved the preparedness of two surgical teams for the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Lee ◽  
Jolé L. Mowry ◽  
Susan E. Maycock ◽  
Marie E. Colaianne-Wolfer ◽  
Suzanne W. Knight ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srivathsan Ravindran ◽  
Siwan Thomas-Gibson ◽  
Sam Murray ◽  
Eleanor Wood

Patient safety incidents occur throughout healthcare and early reports have exposed how deficiencies in ‘human factors’ have contributed to mortality in endoscopy. Recognising this, in the UK, the Joint Advisory Group for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy have implemented a number of initiatives including the ‘Improving Safety and Reducing Error in Endoscopy’ (ISREE) strategy. Within this, simulation training in human factors and Endoscopic Non-Technical Skills (ENTS) is being developed. Across healthcare, simulation training has been shown to improve team skills and patient outcomes. Although the literature is sparse, integrated and in situ simulation modalities have shown promise in endoscopy. Outcomes demonstrate improved individual and team performance and development of skills that aid clinical practice. Additionally, the use of simulation training to detect latent errors in the working environment is of significant value in reducing error and preventing harm. Implementation of simulation training at local and regional levels can be successfully achieved with collaboration between organisational, educational and clinical leads. Nationally, simulation strategies are a key aspect of the ISREE strategy to improve ENTS training. These may include integration of simulation into current training or development of novel simulation-based curricula. However used, it is evident that simulation training is an important tool in developing safer endoscopy.


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