Best Practices and Theoretical Foundations for Simulation Instruction Using Rapid-Cycle Deliberate Practice.

STATEMENT: Rapid-cycle deliberate practice (RCDP) is a learner-centered simulation instructional strategy that identifies performance gaps and targets feedback to improve individual or team deficiencies. Learners have multiple opportunities to practice observational, deductive, decision-making, psychomotor, and crisis resource management skills. As its implementation grows, simulationists need to have a shared mental model of RCDP to build high-quality RCDP-based initiatives. To compare and make general inferences from RCDP data, each training needs to follow a similar structure. This article seeks to describe the fundamentals of RCDP, including essential components and potential variants. We also summarize the current published evidence regarding RCDP's effectiveness. This article serves to create a shared understanding of RCDP, provide clear definitions and classifications for RCDP research, and provide options for future RCDP investigation.

The development and implementation of a 12-month simulation-based learning curriculum for pediatric emergency medicine fellows utilizing debriefing with good judgment and rapid cycle deliberate practice.

BACKGROUND: There are currently training gaps, primarily procedural and teamwork skills, for pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) fellows. Simulation-based learning (SBL) has been suggested as an educational modality to help fill those gaps. However, there is little evidence suggesting how to do so. The objective of this project is to develop and implement an SBL curriculum for PEM fellows with established curriculum development processes and instructional design strategies to improve PEM fellowship training. METHODS: We developed a 12-month longitudinal SBL curriculum focused on needs assessment, instructional strategies, and evaluation. The curriculum development process led us to combine the instructional strategies of debriefing with good judgment, rapid cycle deliberate practice, and task-training to improve core PEM skills such as procedural competence, crisis resource management, and managing complex medical and traumatic emergencies. Using multiple approaches, we measured outcomes related to learners (attendance, performance, critical procedure opportunities), instructor performance, and program structure. RESULTS: Eight/Eight (100%) PEM fellows participated in this curriculum from July 2015 to June 2017 with an overall attendance rate of 68%. Learners self-reported high satisfaction (4.4/5, SD = 0.5) and perceived educational value (4.9/5, SD = 0.38) with the curriculum and overall program structure. Learners had numerous opportunities to practice critical procedures such as airway management (20 opportunities), defibrillator use (ten opportunities), and others (ten opportunities). Learner Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare (short version) scores had mean scores greater than 5.8/7 (SD = 0.89) across all six elements. CONCLUSIONS: This longitudinal SBL curriculum combining debriefing with good judgment and rapid cycle deliberate practice can be a feasible method of reducing current training gaps (specifically with critical procedure opportunities) in PEM fellowship training. More work is needed to quantify the training gap reduction and to refine the curriculum.