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 The aim was to perform the most thorough literature search possible of peer-reviewed publications and reports in the unpublished literature that have been judged for academic quality.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:

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

Traditionally, surgeons have been trained and evaluated on the basis of their performance of surgical procedures in live patients. This article in the Medical Education series explores the use of mechanical devices for the teaching and evaluation of surgical skills.

Teaching Surgical Skills — Changes in the Wind

T Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course was introduced in 1978 and is currently taught in more than 60 countries. It continues to be a widely accepted standard for the initial care of the trauma patient. Begun as a consensus view of recognized experts on safe initial management of a trauma patient, it combines didactic information with procedural skills, culminating with management of simulated patients. Evidence of its effectiveness includes ascertainment and retention of both knowledge and skills as well as reduced morbidity and mortality after introduction of the ATLS program. The ATLS course undergoes revision approximately every 4 years, with early editions primarily revising old and incorporating new content. The eight edition, published in 2008, established a new process for incorporating change. All content changes in that edition and all subsequent editions required evidence rather than opinion for change. Suggestions for change are submitted directly to the ATLS revision Web site, with the opportunity to provide references and the level of evidence. The ninth edition continues to rely on evidence to support changes in ATLS content. However, the major changes in the ninth edition are format and delivery changes rather than content changes. The drivers for format changes come primarily from the increasing understanding of adult education along with the educational preferences of the next generations. In both content and format, two principles in addition to level of evidence continue to guide any changes to the ATLS course. The course continues to emphasize one safe way to care for the trauma patient during initial assessment; it is not meant to incorporate the most advanced, cutting edge information or technology. In addition, with the increasing penetrance of ATLS around the world, there is increasing variation in local resources and practice. The ATLS vision is to embrace those differences that do not affect the ultimate delivery of safe care and allow flexibility for course directors to choose safe options that reflect their local practice.

Advanced trauma life support (ATLS®): the ninth edition.

Simulation-Based Education Improves Quality of Care During Cardiac Arrest Team Responses at an Academic Teaching Hospital: A Case-Control Study

Objective: To determine if high fidelity simulation based team training can improve clinical team performance when added to an existing didactic teamwork curriculum.

Setting: Level 1 trauma center and academic emergency medicine training program.

Participants: Emergency department (ED) staff including nurses, technicians, emergency medicine residents, and attending physicians.

Intervention: : ED staff who had recently received didactic training in the Emergency Team Coordination Course (ETCC®) also received an 8 hour intensive experience in an ED simulator in which three scenarios of graduated difficulty were encountered. A comparison group, also ETCC trained, was assigned to work together in the ED for one 8 hour shift. Experimental and comparison teams were observed in the ED before and after the intervention.

Design: Single, crossover, prospective, blinded and controlled observational study. Teamwork ratings using previously validated behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) were completed by outside trained observers in the ED. Observers were blinded to the identification of the teams.

Results: There were no significant differences between experimental and comparison groups at baseline. The experimental team showed a trend towards improvement in the quality of team behavior (p = 0.07); the comparison group showed no change in team behavior during the two observation periods (p = 0.55). Members of the experimental team rated simulation based training as a useful educational method.

Conclusion: High fidelity medical simulation appears to be a promising method for enhancing didactic teamwork training. This approach, using a number of patients, is more representative of clinical care and is therefore the proper paradigm in which to perform teamwork training. It is, however, unclear how much simulator based training must augment didactic teamwork training for clinically meaningful differences to become apparent.

https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/qhc/13/6/417.full.pdf

Simulation based teamwork training for emergency department staff: does it improve clinical team performance when added to an existing didactic teamwork curriculum?

Background: Human patient simulation (HPS) has been used since 1969 for teaching purposes. Only recently has technology advanced to allow application to the complex field of trauma resuscitation. The purpose of our study was to validate an advanced HPS as an evaluation tool of trauma team resuscitation skills. Methods: The pilot study evaluated 10 three-person military resuscitation teams from community hospitals that participated in a 28-day rotation at a civilian trauma center. Each team consisted of physicians, nurses, and medics. Using the HPS, teams were evaluated on arrival and again on completion of the rotation. In addition, the 10 trauma teams were compared with 5 expert teams composed of experienced trauma surgeons and nurses. Two standardized trauma scenarios were used, representing a severely injured patient with multiple injuries and with an Injury Severity Score of 41 (probability of survival, 50%). Performance was measured using a unique human performance assessment tool that included five scored and eight timed tasks generally accepted as critical to the initial assessment and treatment of a trauma patient. Scored tasks included airway, breathing, circulation, and disability assessments as well as overall organizational skills and a total score. The nonparametric Wilcoxon test was used to compare the military teams’ scores for scenarios 1 and 2, and the comparison of the military teams’ final scores with the expert teams. A value of p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The 10 military teams demonstrated significant improvement in four of the five scored (p < 0.05) and six of the eight timed (p < 0.05) tasks during the final scenario. This improvement reflects the teams’ cumulative didactic and clinical experience during the 28-day trauma refresher course as well as some degree of simulator familiarization. Improved final scores reflected efficient and coordinated team efforts. The military teams’ initial scores were worse than the expert group in all categories, but their final scores were only lower than the expert groups in 2 of 13 measurements (p < 0.05). Conclusion: No studies have validated the use of the HPS as an effective teaching or evaluation tool in the complex field of trauma resuscitation. These pilot data demonstrate the ability to evaluate trauma team performance in a reproducible fashion. In addition, we were able to document a significant improvement in team performance after a 28-day trauma refresher course, with scores approaching those of the expert teams.

Matthew A. Fagert

Papers

Evaluation of trauma team performance using an advanced human patient simulator for resuscitation training.