Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Simulation Use Survey

Simulation-based education is used in the U.S. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship programs, yet the prevalence and types of simulation used is unknown. A survey was developed to determine the prevalence, the perceived importance, and barriers associated with simulation-based education in these programs.

A 43-item survey instrument was sent to all 66 U.S. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship programs during the summer of 2018. We defined simulation broadly as "any type of simulation that involved mannequins, task trainers, standardized actors, team training, etc."

An online survey was used to obtain information regarding simulation used in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship programs.

All sixty-six U.S. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship programs were sent a survey request.

Forty-four of the 66 U.S. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship programs (67%) responded to the survey. Ninety-eight percent of responding programs (n = 43) use simulation-based education in their Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship curriculum. Most programs (56%) have incorporated simulation training into their Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship curriculum in the last 4-10 years (range, <1 to >15 yr, median 4-6 yr). A variety of principles, concepts, and programs were reported as used in their simulation programs. The most commonly reported barriers to Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship simulation-based education were lack of funding (56%) and lack of faculty with simulation experience (56%). The majority of programs (64%; N = 28) think simulation-based education is absolutely necessary to Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship training.

Nearly, all responding U.S. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship programs use simulation-based education to train Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellows with the majority perceiving simulation as absolutely necessary to Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellow training. The reported types of simulation used in fellow training varied, as did training theories and concepts in the simulation programs. More research is needed to understand how to optimize and perhaps standardize parts of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship simulation training to improve the impact and outcomes of such training.