[Newly formed French residents in pediatrics are not well prepared for conducting pediatric resuscitation after medical school]

Resuscitating Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training in a Virtual Reality: Prospective Interventional Study

Background

Simulation-based technologies are emerging to enhance medical education in the digital era. However, there is limited data for the use of virtual reality simulation in pediatric medical education. We developed Virtual Doc as a highly immersive virtual reality simulation to teach pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills to medical students.

Objective

The primary objectives of this study were to evaluate participant satisfaction and perceived educational efficacy of Virtual Doc. The secondary aim of this study was to assess the game play features of Virtual Doc.

Methods

We conducted a prospective closed beta-testing study at the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) in 2018. All medical students from the 6-year undergraduate program were eligible to participate and were recruited through voluntary convenience sampling. Participants attended a 1-hour testing session and attempted at least one full resuscitation case using the virtual reality simulator. Following this, participants were asked to complete an anonymous postsession questionnaire. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results

A total of 26 participants were recruited, consented to participate in this study, and attended a 1-hour in-person closed beta-testing session, and 88% (23/26) of participants completed the anonymous questionnaire and were included in this study. Regarding participant satisfaction, Virtual Doc was enjoyed by 91% (21/23) of participants, with 74% (17/23) intending to recommend the simulation to a colleague and 66% (15/23) intending to recommend the simulation to a friend. In assessment of the perceived educational value of Virtual Doc, 70% (16/23) of participants agreed they had an improved understanding of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and 78% (18/23) agreed that Virtual Doc will help prepare for and deal with real-life clinical scenarios. Furthermore, 91% (21/23) of participants agreed with the development of additional Virtual Doc cases as beneficial for learning. An evaluation of the game play features as our secondary objective revealed that 70% (16/23) of participants agreed with ease in understanding how to use Virtual Doc, and 74% (17/23) found the game play elements useful in understanding cardiopulmonary resuscitation. One-third (7/23, 30%) found it easy to work with the interactive elements. In addition, 74% (17/23) were interested in interacting with other students within the simulation.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrates a positive response regarding trainee satisfaction and perceived educational efficacy of Virtual Doc. The simulation was widely accepted by the majority of users and may have the potential to improve educational learning objectives.

ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF PEDIATRIC CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION USING THE IN SITU MOCK CODE TOOL

Objective:

To evaluate the quality of individual and team care for cardiac arrest in a pediatric hospital using clinical surprise simulation (in situ mock code).

Methods:

We conducted an observational study with a sample of the hospital staff. Clinical simulations of cardiorespiratory arrest were performed in several sectors and work shifts. The mock code occurred in vacant beds of the sector without previous notification to the teams on call. One researcher conducted all mock codes and another evaluated individual and team attendance through a questionnaire contemplating recommendation for adequate cardiopulmonary resuscitation, based on the Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) guidelines. At the end of the simulations, the research team provided a debriefing to the team tested.

Results:

Fifteen in situ mock code were performed with 56 nursing professionals (including nurses, nursing residents and technicians) and 11 physicians (including two pediatric residents and four residents of pediatric subspecialties). The evaluation showed that 46.7% of the professionals identified cardiac arrest checking for responsiveness (26.7%) and pulse (46.7%); 91.6% requested cardiac monitoring and venous access. In one case (8.3%) the cardiac compression technique was correct in depth and frequency, while 50% performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation correctly regarding the proportion of compressions and ventilation. According to PALS guidelines, the teams had a good performance in the work dynamics.

Conclusions:

There was low adherence to the PALS guidelines during cardiac arrest simulations. The quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be improved in many points. We suggest periodical clinical simulations in pediatric services to improve cardiopulmonary resuscitation performance.

Apprentissage par simulation en pédiatrie : l’exemple de l’arrêt cardiorespiratoire de l’enfant

La simulation en santé s’est diffusée très rapidement en pédiatrie à partir des années 2000 aux États-Unis et au Canada, puis à partir des années 2010 en France. L’arrêt cardiorespiratoire (ACR) de l’enfant représente le meilleur exemple des bénéfices qui peuvent être apportés par la simulation. La simulation peut reproduire à l’infini cette situation exceptionnelle, offre un apprentissage sans risque pour le patient ni pour l’apprenant, permet de travailler ses aspects cognitifs, techniques et humains. La simulation est effectivement associée à un gain en connaissance et en compétence chez les apprenants et participe à l’amélioration du pronostic des patients. Afin de maximiser l’efficacité pédagogique de l’enseignement de la prise en charge de l’ACR de l’enfant, les responsables pédagogiques devraient sans cesse évaluer leurs programmes, privilégier des curriculums qui associent la simulation avec d’autres modalités d’apprentissage et avoir pour objectif une pédagogie de la maîtrise. Les mannequins haute fidélité, s’ils sont appréciés par les apprenants, restent pédagogiquement équivalents aux mannequins basse fidélité pour l’apprentissage de la prise en charge de l’ACR de l’enfant.

Teaching paediatric basic life support in medical schools using peer teaching or video demonstration: A prospective randomised trial

AIM

The outcome of children with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is still poor, but bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation can increase survival and minimise severe neurological sequelae. While teaching basic life support is standardised in emergency medicine classes, paediatric basic life support (PBLS) in neonates and toddlers is under-represented in paediatric curricula during university education. The appropriate mixture of E-learning and peer teaching lessons remains controversial in teaching paediatric basic skills. However, an increasing number of medical schools and paediatric classes switch their curricula to much cheaper and less tutor-dependent E-learning modules. We hypothesise that a peer teaching lesson is superior to a PBLS video demonstration with co-extensive contents and improves knowledge, skills and adherence to resuscitation guidelines.

METHODS

Eighty-eight medical students were randomly assigned to a video PBLS lesson (n = 44) or a peer teaching group (n = 44). An objective structured clinical examination was performed immediately after the class and at the end of the semester.

RESULTS

Students taught by a peer teacher performed significantly better immediately after the initial course and at the end of the semester when compared to the video-trained group (P = 0.008 and P = 0.003, respectively). In addition, a borderline regression analysis also revealed a better resuscitation performance of students instructed in the peer teaching group.

CONCLUSIONS

In our setting, peer teaching is superior and more sustainable than a co-extensive video demonstration alone when teaching PBLS to medical students. However, additional studies with combinations of different teaching methods are necessary to evaluate long-term outcomes.