Enhancing residents' neonatal resuscitation competency through unannounced simulation-based training.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pediatric Residency Training
• Simulation-Based Learning

Background:

• Many pediatric residents lacked experience leading resuscitation events.
• Work hour restrictions and declining patient volumes may reduce hands-on training opportunities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if unannounced mock resuscitations in a high-fidelity simulation program improve resident confidence and performance of neonatal resuscitation best practices.

Main Methods:

• Residents participated in unannounced infant simulator resuscitation scenarios.
• Training included structured debriefing in the actual clinical setting.
• Pre- and post-training confidence questionnaires and performance assessments (live and video) were used.

Main Results:

• Significant pre-post gains in self-confidence were observed for 8 of 14 Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) critical behaviors.
• Overall confidence scores and observed performance showed statistically significant improvements (p<0.0001).
• Strong correlations were found between live and video-based performance assessments.

Conclusions:

• In-situ, simulation-based training is well-received by residents.
• The program led to significant improvements in confidence and observed competency.
• This training model shows potential for broader application in residency and continuing medical education.