Emergency Procedure Training of Residents Using Lightly Embalmed Cadavers; 3-year Experience

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Emergency procedures are highly dependent on the skill and experience of the physician performing them. Recent advances in light embalming techniques have enabled us to train students on more "realistic" cadavers. The purpose of this study was to report on or 3-year experience with lightly embalmed cadaver-based training and evaluate the student satisfaction with this approach. METHODS: Lightly embalmed cadavers were prepared by the Department of Anatomy. The course was held every March for 3 years. In 2007, we held a 6-hour course for 16 first-year emergency medicine residents from various hospitals. We had procedure and demonstration stations for airway management, tube thoracostomy, central venous catheterization, venous cutdown, pericardiocentesis, intraosseous insertion, open thoracostomy, and lumbar puncture. We evaluated the students' level of satisfaction with the course by giving pre- and post-course evaluations to all students. RESULTS: Based on our experience from the two prior courses, the 2007 curriculum was divided into three parts didactic lecture, procedure stations and demonstration stations. Pre- and post-course scores were compared for the following knowledge of the indications and contraindications for the procedures; ability and confidence in performing the procedures; and the ability to perform procedures on actual patients. For 26 items out of a total of 32 items(81.3%), the scores from the post-course evaluation were statistically higher than the scores from the pre-course evaluation. CONCLUSION: Lightly embalmed cadavers are excellent training models for emergency procedures. From our 3-year experience with this method, we were able to develop a training course that was satisfactory to students.