David M. Gaba

Bio: David M. Gaba is an academic researcher from Stanford University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Patient safety & Health care. The author has an hindex of 55, co-authored 190 publications receiving 16810 citations. Previous affiliations of David M. Gaba include Boston Children's Hospital & Veterans Health Administration.

The future vision of simulation in health care

Abstract: Simulation is a technique-not a technology-to replace or amplify real experiences with guided experiences that evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive manner. The diverse applications of simulation in health care can be categorised by 11 dimensions: aims and purposes of the simulation activity; unit of participation; experience level of participants; health care domain; professional discipline of participants; type of knowledge, skill, attitudes, or behaviours addressed; the simulated patient's age; technology applicable or required; site of simulation; extent of direct participation; and method of feedback used. Using simulation to improve safety will require full integration of its applications into the routine structures and practices of health care. The costs and benefits of simulation are difficult to determine, especially for the most challenging applications, where long term use may be required. Various driving forces and implementation mechanisms can be expected to propel simulation forward, including professional societies, liability insurers, health care payers, and ultimately the public. The future of simulation in health care depends on the commitment and ingenuity of the health care simulation community to see that improved patient safety using this tool becomes a reality.

The Role of Debriefing in Simulation-Based Learning

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to critically review what is felt to be important about the role of debriefing in the field of simulation-based learning, how it has come about and developed over time, and the different styles or approaches that are used and how effective the process is. A recent systematic

Anesthesia crisis resource management training : teaching anesthesiologists to handle critical incidents

Abstract: The authors have developed a course in Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management (ACRM) analogous to courses in Crew (Cock-pit) Resource Management (CRM) conducted in commercial and military aviation. Anesthesiologists do not typically receive formal training in crisis management although they are called upon to manage life-threatening crises at a moment's notice. Two model demonstration courses in ACRM were conducted using a realistic anesthesia simulation system to test the feasibility and acceptance of this kind of training. Anesthesiologists received didactic instruction in dynamic decision-making, human performance issues in anesthesia, and in the principles of anesthesia crisis resource management. After familiarization with the host institution's operating rooms and with the simulation environment, they underwent a 2-h simulation session followed by a debriefing session which used a videotape of their simulator performance. Participants rated the course as intense, helpful to their practice of anesthesiology, and highly enjoyable. Several aspects of the course were highly rated, including: videotapes of actual anesthetic mishaps, simulation sessions, and debriefing sessions. Scores on written tests of knowledge about anesthesia crisis management showed a significant improvement following the first course (residents) but not the second course (experienced anesthesiologists). Although the ultimate utility of this training for anesthesiologists cannot easily be determined, the course appeared to be a useful method for addressing important issues of anesthesiologist performance which have previously been dealt with haphazardly. The authors believe that ACRM training should become a regular part of the initial and continuing education of anesthesiologists.

Simulation-based training in anesthesia crisis resource management (ACRM): a decade of experience

Abstract: Several gaps exist in the training of clinicians in health care domains, such as anesthesiology, that have the cognitive profile of complexity and dynamism. These features are shared with other industries such as commercial aviation. Training for cockpit crews on Crew Resource Management (CRM) emphasizes decision-making and teamwork principles. The authors created a simulation-based curriculum (ACRM) for anesthesiology based on principles of CRM in aviation. The training philosophy adapted to health care is one of training single-discipline crews to work in teams. The ACRM curriculum involves highly realistic simulation scenarios requiring complex decision making and interaction with multiple personnel. Scenarios are each followed by a detailed debriefing using videotapes of the simulation session. ACRM has been adopted at major health care institutions around the world. Special training for instructors is provided, especially concerning debriefing. The ACRM approach has been extended to a wide variety of other health care domains that involve complexity and dynamism, such as emergency and trauma medicine, intensive care, and cardiac arrest response teams. Simulation-based training based on CRM principles is expected to become routine in many health care settings in the coming decade.

Fatigue among Clinicians and the Safety of Patients

Abstract: Clinicians, especially physicians in training, often work long hours and get inadequate sleep. The implications of fatigue among clinicians for the quality of medical care have not been adequately studied, but sleep deprivation is likely to cause medical errors. This article reviews the effect of fatigue on performance, as well as current policies regulating residents' hours of work and options for new regulations governing residency shifts. The authors argue that reform is needed because the long work hours of clinicians adversely affect the quality of health care.

To Err Is Human Building a Safer Health System

Abstract: Boken presenterer en helhetlig strategi for hvordan myndigheter, helsepersonell, industri og forbrukere kan redusere medisinske feil.

Thinking fast and slow.

Abstract: In 1974 an article appeared in Science magazine with the dry-sounding title “Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases” by a pair of psychologists who were not well known outside their discipline of decision theory. In it Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman introduced the world to Prospect Theory, which mapped out how humans actually behave when faced with decisions about gains and losses, in contrast to how economists assumed that people behave. Prospect Theory turned Economics on its head by demonstrating through a series of ingenious experiments that people are much more concerned with losses than they are with gains, and that framing a choice from one perspective or the other will result in decisions that are exactly the opposite of each other, even if the outcomes are monetarily the same. Prospect Theory led cognitive psychology in a new direction that began to uncover other human biases in thinking that are probably not learned but are part of our brain’s wiring.

Features and uses of high-fidelity medical simulations that lead to effective learning: a BEME systematic review

Abstract: SUMMARY Review date: 1969 to 2003, 34 years. Background and context: Simulations are now in widespread use in medical education and medical personnel evaluation. Outcomes research on the use and effectiveness of simulation technology in medical education is scattered, inconsistent and varies widely in methodological rigor and substantive focus. Objectives: Review and synthesize existing evidence in educational science that addresses the question, ‘What are the features and uses of high-fidelity medical simulations that lead to most effective learning?’. Search strategy: The search covered five literature databases (ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Timelit) and employed 91 single search terms and concepts and their Boolean combinations. Hand searching, Internet searches and attention to the ‘grey literature’ were also used. The aim was to perform the most thorough literature search possible of peer-reviewed publications and reports in the unpublished literature that have been judged for academic quality. Inclusion and exclusion criteria: Four screening criteria were used to reduce the initial pool of 670 journal articles to a focused set of 109 studies: (a) elimination of review articles in favor of empirical studies; (b) use of a simulator as an educational assessment or intervention with learner outcomes measured quantitatively; (c) comparative research, either experimental or quasi-experimental; and (d) research that involves simulation as an educational intervention. Data extraction: Data were extracted systematically from the 109 eligible journal articles by independent coders. Each coder used a standardized data extraction protocol. Data synthesis: Qualitative data synthesis and tabular presentation of research methods and outcomes were used. Heterogeneity of research designs, educational interventions, outcome measures and timeframe precluded data synthesis using meta-analysis. Headline results: Coding accuracy for features of the journal articles is high. The extant quality of the published research is generally weak. The weight of the best available evidence suggests that high-fidelity medical simulations facilitate learning under the right conditions. These include the following: