Pediatric nurse practitioners effective in teaching providers the Asthma Action Plan using simulation

Despite traditional education regarding the Asthma Action Plan (AAP), providers in the inpatient setting of a pediatric hospital reported lack of knowledge regarding the AAP and lack of confidence in teaching the AAP to patients and families. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP)-led class incorporating simulation on resident physician knowledge of the AAP and confidence in teaching families the AAP. The study setting was a 250 bed Midwest academic pediatric hospital. The 26 participants were second year residents completing a four-week pediatric pulmonary rotation. The class consisted of a brief didactic component regarding the AAP, simulation to teach a patient/parent actor the AAP based on PNP-developed scenarios, and debriefing of the experience. The average composite score on the pre- and post-simulation knowledge assessment showed improvement from 44.8% to 80.4% (p<0.001). All participants answered favorably on questions regarding perceived benefit of the class and 80.8% strongly agreed that they felt more confident teaching the AAP after the class. This study demonstrates that resident physician knowledge of the AAP and confidence in teaching the AAP improved after a PNP-led simulation class.