Simulation based training – preparing for emergencies in paediatrics

Introduction: Patient safety constitutes one of the main objectives in health care. Since medical education has traditionally relied on didactic lecture this teaching method may be inadequate to properly train the physician for rare but potentially lethal events in pediatrics. As a result deficits have been found in clinical skills of resident house staff, especially in the area of acute emergencies or critical care. Therefore new approaches to medical education are required to improve opportunities for experiential learning. Simulation using realistic models and scenarios may provide these opportunities to experience a real event for the purpose of practice, learning and reflecting actions without any risk of harm for the patient. Although patient simulation is not a new technique, the implementation in pediatric eductation is not well established. Method: To evaluate the benefit of implementing patient simulation courses in our student education program, we performed a single centre, controlled prospective study in our medical intensive care unit, at the university of Erlangen, pediatric section. The university hospital for children and adolescents in Erlangen is a level one intensive care centre and is responsible for the pediatric part of the medical education process. After implementing the simulation course on a regular basis in our hospitals training centre, we decided to make the simulation course obligatory. In our study all students who past the initial exams, indicating sufficient basic theoretical pediatric knowledge, had to participate in the pediatric simulation course to pass the pediatric education. Within one year 251 students participated in our simulation courses. Results: From our observations we can say, that even students with excellent theoretical knowledge are very quickly aware of their personal limitations. 79% feel better prepared for their practical duties after the course. Because of these results we are planning to implement the simulation courses for all in house physicians.