Using Kane's framework to build an assessment tool for undergraduate medical student's clinical competency with point of care ultrasound.

INTRODUCTION: Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) is a portable imaging technology used in clinical settings. There is a need for valid tools to assess clinical competency in POCUS in medical students. The primary aim of this study was to use Kane's framework to evaluate an interpretation-use argument (IUA) for an undergraduate POCUS assessment tool. METHODS: Participants from Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of Calgary, and the University of Ottawa were recruited between 2014 and 2018. A total of 86 participants and seven expert raters were recruited. The participants performed abdominal, sub-xiphoid cardiac, and aorta POCUS scans on a volunteer patient after watching an instruction video. The participant-generated POCUS images were assessed by the raters using a checklist and a global rating scale. Kane's framework was used to determine validity evidence for the scoring inference. Fleiss' kappa was used to measure agreement between seven raters on five questions that reflected clinical competence. The descriptive comments collected from the raters were systematically coded and analyzed. RESULTS: The overall agreement between the seven raters on five questions on clinical competency ranged from fair to moderate (κ = 0.32 to 0.55). The themes from the qualitative data were poor image generation and interpretation (22%), items not applicable (20%), poor audio and video quality (20%), poor probe handling (10%), and participant did not verbalize findings (14%). CONCLUSION: The POCUS assessment tool requires further modification and testing prior before it can be used for reliable undergraduate POCUS assessment.

The PHOENIX: Design and Development of a Three-Dimensional-Printed Drone Prototype and Corresponding Simulation Scenario Based on the Management of Cardiac Arrest.

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) remains one of the most prevalent cardiovascular emergencies in the world. The development of international protocols and the use of accessible devices such as automated external defibrillators (AEDs) allowed for the standardization and organization of medical care related to SCA. When defibrillation is performed within five minutes of starting ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT), the victim survival rate has increased considerably. Therefore, training healthcare professionals to use AEDs correctly is essential to improve patient outcomes and response time in the intervention. In this technical report, we advocate simulation-based education as a teaching methodology and an essential component of drone adaptation, novel technology, that can deliver AEDs to the site, as well as a training scenario to teach healthcare professionals how to operate the real-time communication components of drones and AEDs efficiently. Studies have suggested that simulation can be an effective way to train healthcare professionals. Through teaching methodology using simulation, training these audiences has the potential to reduce the response time to intervention, consequently, increasing the patient's chance of surviving.

Prehospital Trauma Care: A Simulation Scenario for Rural-Based Healthcare Providers.

Trauma is a major cause of premature death and disability worldwide, with a disproportionate number of deaths occurring in rural and remote areas. Prehospital care is a key link in the chain of trauma survival and its role may be currently underestimated. Therefore, addressing deficiencies in prehospital trauma care may help to improve outcomes. Several potential solutions have been proposed to address the disparities that exist in rural prehospital trauma care, some of which focus on educational endeavors. Simulation-based medical education (SBME) is one cost-effective strategy to train healthcare providers in high-acuity, low-opportunity (HALO) scenarios, such as those encountered during major trauma. The aim of this technical report is to present a mass casualty simulation scenario that is intended for healthcare providers in rural and remote locations to refine their skills and comfort level with such cases. It emphasizes prehospital trauma management and effective communication skills among healthcare teams, which are two key elements in improving trauma outcomes.

Chest Pain on the Ward: A Simulation Scenario for Rural Family and Emergency Medicine Trainees.

Chest pain is a frequently encountered emergency room presentation, of which about 15% of cases are due to acute coronary syndromes. Cardiogenic shock is a relatively uncommon complication with associated high morbidity and mortality. Emergency medicine practitioners frequently encounter critically ill patients that require quick, definitive treatment to optimize patient outcomes. These high acuity presentations often are of relatively low occurrence which makes training residents and learners challenging. Simulation-based medical education has been shown to enhance patient outcomes by teaching these high acuity low occurrence (HALO) presentations in a safe environment. Herein we describe a simulation scenario of a patient with cardiogenic shock secondary to acute coronary syndrome. It consists of a step-wise, detailed summary of the case, along with modifiers to adjust the case for repeated use, learning objectives, and a suggested evaluation.

Pitfalls in Emergency Medicine: Survey-Based Identification of Learning Objectives for Targeted Simulation Curricula by Emergency Department Staff.

INTRODUCTION: The emergency department is a complex practice environment into which numerous factors may introduce both human and system error. Emergency physicians have to assemble and manage multidisciplinary teams with a moment's notice to manage critically ill patients. The EM training programs across Canada are diverse with considerable variation among programs. Acquisition of both high acuity low occurrence (HALO) and crisis resource management (CRM) skills are crucial to the development of proficient emergency room physicians. Physicians and allied health workers were surveyed to identify potential causes of error in local emergency departments and to find simulation-driven solutions. METHODS: An anonymous survey was prepared to evaluate potential pitfalls of emergency care in St. John's, NL, Canada. It was distributed electronically to 108 medical staff, including physicians, nurses, and postgraduate year three (PGY3) residents. Respondents were asked about their experience with simulation education, and whether or not they feel that there is an opportunity for it in postgraduate emergency medicine training. RESULTS: The response rate was 30%. Communication - with the emergency department team, consulting services, and patients - was identified as a potential topic for simulation, along with interruptions. Burnout, busy department, departmental crowding, end of shift handover, and incomplete/missing patient medical history were identified as topics that should be included in the emergency medicine curriculum. Following a review with the simulation expert panel, it was determined that end of shift handover could also be incorporated as a simulation in the existing curriculum. DISCUSSION: This survey looked at pitfalls in emergency medicine through a CRM lens. Six pitfalls were identified as important for patient safety, but not best addressed with simulation. These could be incorporated into the half-day curriculum as didactic lectures. Four important patient safety pitfalls were identified that could potentially be addressed with simulation and incorporated in the existing emergency medicine simulation curriculum.

Development of a Three-dimensional Printed Emergent Burr Hole and Craniotomy Simulator.

Patients with a traumatic head injury (THI) require immediate surgical intervention, as rapidly expanding intracranial hematomas can be imminently life-threatening, not permitting transfer time to neurosurgical care in a tertiary care center. In rural and remote areas, where neurosurgeons may not be readily available, surgical intervention by Community General Surgeons (CGS) may be required. Currently, the CGS in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) do not have access to, or have experience training with, an emergent burr hole/craniotomy (EBHC) simulator. One of the barriers is the availability of inexpensive and reliable simulators to practice these skills. Therefore, a low-cost, three-dimensional (3D) printed EBHC simulator was designed and 3D-printed by MUN Med 3D (St John's, NL). The aim of this technical report is to assess the need for such simulator in rural and remote healthcare centers and report on the iterative development of the EBHC simulator. The 3D-printed EBHC simulator developed by MUN Med 3D was utilized during a general surgery workshop at the 26th Annual Rural and Remote Medicine Conference in St. John's, NL. A total of six 3D-printed EBHC simulators were provided for the hour and a half workshop. At the end of the workshop, 16 participants were asked to provide feedback on the need for this simulator in their rural or remote environment as well as feedback on the physical attributes. The feedback received from the participants was overall positive, informative, and supported the need for the 3D-printed EBHC simulator.

Emergency Department Presentation of a Patient with a Severe Upper Gastrointestinal Bleed: A Simulation Case for Training Emergency Medicine Residents.

Emergency medicine practitioners frequently encounter acute presentations requiring quick, directed treatment to ensure the best patient outcome. Training residents in the appropriate clinical and procedural skills often proves difficult when treating the patient who is critically unwell. Simulation-based medical education is an effective modality that enables teaching around life-threatening medical conditions in a safe space for learners while avoiding adverse complications for patients. Severe gastrointestinal bleeding is one such condition that emergency medicine practitioners would benefit from encountering first in a simulation environment due to its high rate of morbidity and mortality if not quickly managed appropriately. This report describes a simulated scenario of an undifferentiated patient who is acutely unwell and then becomes hemodynamically unstable secondary to a severe gastrointestinal bleed. Delivery of the case is facilitated by the detailed technical report herein. It contains a stepwise, detailed summary of appropriate learners' actions and suggestions for learning objectives relating to the case.

Synthesis of Oligo(1,8-pyrenylene)s: A Series of Functional Molecular Liquids.

A monomer-through-pentamer series of oligo(1,8-pyrenylene)s was synthesized using a two-step iterative synthetic strategy. The trimer, tetramer, and pentamer are mixtures of atropisomers that interconvert slowly at room temperature (as shown by variable-temperature NMR analysis). They are liquids well below room temperature, as indicated by POM, DSC and SWAXS analysis. These oligomers are highly fluorescent both in the liquid state and in dilute solution (λF,max = 444-457 nm, φF = 0.80) and an investigation of their photophysical properties demonstrated that delocalization plays a larger role in their excited states than it does in related pyrene-based oligomers.

Trauma and Hypothermia in Antarctica: An Emergency Medicine Marine Simulation Scenario.

Simulation has been shown to improve both learner knowledge and patient outcomes. Many emergency medicine training programs incorporate simulation into their curricula to provide learners with experiences that are rare to encounter in practice, yet performance with a high degree of competence is critical. One rare encounter, which is depicted in the report, is the management of a trauma patient who was hypothermic after falling from an expedition vessel into the cold Southern Ocean. The unique scenario presented in this technical report incorporates CanMEDS learning objectives including the communicator, health advocate, and collaborator roles. Using medical simulation facilities, marine performance simulation facilities, and a video, this scenario provides teaching that is uncommon in traditional emergency medicine training. As such, it is valuable for trainees who intend to practice rural, remote, or expedition medicine, or provide coverage for ships and marine installations.

Pediatric Motor Vehicle-Pedestrian Accident: a Simulation Scenario for Emergency Medicine Trainees.

Simulation-based medical education is an evolving field that allows trainees to practice skills in a safe environment with no risk to patients. Recently, technology-enhanced simulation for emergency medicine learners has been shown to have favorable effects on learner knowledge and patient outcomes. In this report, a human patient simulator is used to familiarize emergency medicine trainees with the presentation and management of a pediatric motor vehicle-pedestrian accident is described.

Can We CanMEDS? Intangible Learning Through Tangible Simulation Case Development.

The Royal College CanMEDS framework has become a guide for medical school curricula. This framework aims to improve patient care by identifying and explaining seven key roles that physicians must fulfill in order to deliver high-quality healthcare to their patients. While medical schools incorporate these roles in their teaching processes, students can also apply them outside the classroom. Here, we describe a unique model developed at Memorial University of Newfoundland's Tuckamore Simulation Research Collaborative (TSRC), where students develop simulation cases with the guidance of expert mentors and apply the Royal College CanMEDS framework to writing clinical simulations.

Development of a Sustainable Simulator and Simulation Program for Laparoscopic Skills Training in Haiti.

Laparoscopic surgery has been shown to have many favorable effects on surgical outcomes and postoperative recovery times. However, the cost of currently available training programs, such as the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS), limits their adoption in developing countries. To address this cost constraint, educators at the Justinian University Hospital (JUH) in Northern Haiti used local materials to build their own laparoscopic skills box trainer. This trainer is used to teach all surgical and OB/GYN residents in their laparoscopic skills program. The progressive curriculum consists of seven modules, three of which are for all trainees and four of which are specifically for surgery and OB/GYN (2). The seven modules are arranged in the order of difficulty; they start with basic maneuvers and progress to complex skills. This report describes both the preparation of the seven models and evaluation of the skills that are learned. This approach may facilitate global access to feasible, progressive, and sustainable laparoscopic training.

Mock Code: A Code Blue Scenario Requested by and Developed for Registered Nurses.

The use of simulation in medical training is quickly becoming more common, with applications in emergency, surgical, and nursing education. Recently, registered nurses working in surgical inpatient units requested a mock code simulation to practice skills, improve knowledge, and build self-confidence in a safe and controlled environment. A simulation scenario using a high-fidelity mannequin was developed and will be discussed herein.