Mapping the Expert Mind: Integration Method for Revising the ACES Medical Simulation Curriculum.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Simulation-based Learning
• Healthcare Professional Training

Background:

• The Acute Critical Event Simulation (ACES) program aims to improve healthcare providers' proficiency in managing critically ill patients.
• The program utilizes various educational interventions, primarily simulation-based, for physicians in tertiary and community hospitals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development of an integrated curriculum for the ACES program.
• To establish a knowledge repository using cognitive sequence maps to guide the creation of simulation scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Developed a peer-reviewed ebook knowledge repository of cognitive sequence maps detailing expert decision-making in critical care.
• Recruited 67 authors and 35 reviewers from national organizations, including physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and respiratory therapists.
• Employed a two-phase curriculum development process involving focus groups and detailed task mapping linked to evidence.

Main Results:

• The cognitive mapping method significantly improved integration between curriculum chapters, with tasks frequently shared and modified.
• An average of 32 tasks and 15 situations were developed per chapter, requiring an average of 6.7 focus group meetings per map.
• Content integration was enhanced, reducing author workload and linking chapters effectively, such as the Hypercapnic Ventilatory Failure chapter to six others.

Conclusions:

• A knowledge repository of sequenced cognitive maps was successfully developed to facilitate curriculum integration for critical care simulation.
• This methodology, though demanding, fostered scholarly work and established an interprofessional network of educators across Canada.