Healthcare professionals’ experience of using in situ simulation training in preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative focus group study from a Danish hospital

ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic forced hospital organisation and healthcare professionals to prepare for large quantities of patients in isolation rooms. In situ simulation may seem promising in order to manage the organisational changes that the pandemic require. This study aims to investigate in situ simulations influence on healthcare professional’s self-perceived preparedness to face the pandemic.DesignA qualitative focus group study.SettingWe conducted full scale in situ simulations over a 3-week period in April 2020, including 277 healthcare professionals, at a Danish University Hospital. Subsequently, six semistructured focus group interviews, including 22 participants from the simulations, were conducted in May 2020.Participants22 healthcare professionals participated in the focus group interviews.MethodsThe simulations consisted of a briefing, two scenarios focusing on acute respiratory insufficiency and correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and a debriefing. We conducted six focus group interviews using comparable semistructured interview guides focusing on the organisational restructuring of the departments and outcomes of the needs-driven simulation-based programme. We used thematic analysis to identify main themes.ResultsThe informants perceived that the simulations resulted in positive experiences for the healthcare professionals and perceived the organisational changes as effective. They highlighted that simulation enhanced teamwork, demystified the COVID-19 disease, and improved skills, in correct use of PPE and acute treatment of COVID-19 patients. Data revealed that a predefined simulation task force including both experienced simulators and medical experts for facilitation of in situ simulation would be beneficial.ConclusionIn situ simulation may be useful to enhance learning on organisation and individual level during a pandemic. This educational activity could serve an important role in facilitating hospital preparation and education of large numbers of healthcare professionals during a healthcare crisis. Introduction of a simulation task force is suggested to handle coordination and rapid enrolment across the hospital.

125 INTRODUCING AN IN SITU SIMULATION PROGRAMME IN AN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

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.

Challenges to the implementation of in situ simulation at HEMS bases: a qualitative study of facilitators’ expectations and strategies

Introduction Facilitators play an essential role in simulation-based training on helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) bases. There is scant literature about the barriers to the implementation of simulation training in HEMS. The purpose of this explorative interview study was to identify factors that the local facilitators anticipated would challenge the smooth implementation of the program, and their strategies to overcome these before the national implementation of in situ simulation-based training locally, and subsequently, one year after the programme was initiated, to identify the actual challenges they had indeed experienced, and their solutions to overcome these. Methods A qualitative study with semi-structured group interviews of facilitators was undertaken before and after one year of simulation-based training on all HEMS bases and one Search and Rescue base. Systematic text condensation was used to extract facilitators’ expectations and experiences. Results Facilitators identified 17 themes in the pre-study-year interviews. Pedagogical, motivational and logistical issues were amongst the dominant themes. Other key themes included management support, dedicated time for the facilitators and ongoing development of the facilitator. In the post-study-year interviews, the same themes were identified. Despite anxiety about the perceptions of, and enthusiasm for, simulation training amongst the HEMS crews, our facilitators describe increasing levels of motivation over the study period. Conclusion Facilitators prognosticated the anticipated challenges to the successful implementation of simulation-based training on HEMS bases and suggested solutions for overcoming these challenges. After one year of simulation-based training, the facilitators reflected on the key factors for successful implementation.

Abstract 10327: Protected Mock Codes Using In-situ Simulation in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Our hospital faced an uphill battle with increasing clinical emergencies, a surge of patients, and compliance with the new regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thereby, the code blue team developed a protected code blue protocol to minimize the infectious risk of the code team members and provide efficient management of emergencies during a lifesaving situation. Objectives: This project aimed to help the core team members to practice the new protected code blue protocol using in-situ simulation. The drills might improve the self-confidence of the code team members in performing their role, clear identification of themselves, effective communication skills, and teamwork. Methods: The mock code team developed different scenarios and ran the drills in 17 departments in different shifts within 8 weeks. A convenience sample of 269 staff participated in the drills. Participants included physicians, respiratory therapists, nurses, and other disciplinary staff. A debriefing was conducted to identify areas of improvement. Participants completed an evaluation form during the debriefing. The form included questions using a Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) to rate the variables. Descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient were used to test the hypotheses. Results: Out of the 269 participants, 125 staff completed and returned the evaluation form. The mean overall rating of the protected mock codes was 4.184 at a scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (excellent) with a standard deviation of .827. The Pearson correlation coefficient ( r ) between the overall rating of the training and the amount of self-confidence in performing their role was .697 ( p =.000); clear identification of themselves was .329 ( p = .000); effective communication skills was .500 ( p = .000); and teamwork was .526 ( p = .000). Limitations: The project was conducted in a teaching hospital. The results might not apply to different care delivery settings. Conclusions: The findings of this project demonstrated that in-situ simulation improved the self-confidence of the code team members, communication skills, and teamwork in performing the protected code blue protocol for a COVID-19 suspected or confirmed patient with cardiac arrest.

Combining in-situ simulation and live HEMS mission facilitator observation: a flexible learning concept

Background Continuous medical education is essential in Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS). In-situ simulation training makes it possible to train in a familiar environment. The use of a dedicated facilitator is essential; however, when an in-situ simulation training session is interrupted by a live mission, the efforts invested in the training are left unfulfilled. This study aims to evaluate if HEMS mission observation and debriefing by the simulation facilitator is a feasible alternative to mission-interrupted simulation training, and how this alternative to simulation training is perceived by both facilitators and HEMS crew members. Methods Facilitator observation during live missions and post-mission debriefing was offered as an alternative to mission-interrupted simulation training over a one-year period at three HEMS bases. Immediate feedback was requested from crews and facilitators after each observed live mission on a predefined questionnaire. At the end of the study period, semi-structured interviews were performed with a sample of HEMS crew members and facilitators to further explore the experience with the concept. Numerical data about the sessions were recorded continuously. Results A total of 78 training sessions were attempted, with 46 (59%) of the simulations conducted as planned. Of the remaining, 23 (29%) were not started because the crew had other duties (fatigued crew or crew called for a mission where observation was inappropriate/impossible), and 9 (12%) training sessions were converted to observed live missions. In total, 43 (55%), 16 (21%) and 19 (24%) attempts to facilitate simulation training were undertaken on the three bases, respectively. The facilitators considered mission observation more challenging than simulation. The interviews identified local know-how, clinical skills, and excellent communication skills as important prerequisites for the facilitators to conduct live mission observation successfully. Participating crews and facilitators found simulation both valuable and needed. Being observed was initially perceived as unpleasant but later regarded as a helpful way of learning. Conclusion Live mission observation and debriefing seems a feasible and well-received alternative to an in-situ simulation program in HEMS to maximise invested resources and maintain the learning outcome. Furthermore, additional training of simulation facilitators to handle the context of live mission observation may further improve the learning output.

SP10.1.7 The Important Role of In-Situ Simulation in Preparing Surgeons for the COVID-19 Pandemic

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.