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Innovating for a Safe Simulation Challenge During a Pandemic: An Avatar Simulation Concept
Anne-Laure Philippon1, Pauline Legros, Fabien Grattery
1From the Emergency Department (A.L.P.), Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris; Faculty of Educational Sciences (A.L.P.), Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Sciences de l'Education et de la Communication (LISEC), University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg; Urgent e-Sim Formation (P.L., F.G., A.L., V.P., A.P., G.B., A.L.P., S.F.), Chinon Hospital, Chinon; Emergency Department (P.L., A.L., V.P., A.P., G.B.), Chinon Hospital, Chinon; Emergency Department (S.F.), Perpignan Hospital, Perpignan; Department of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care (A.K.), Besançon, France; and Emergency Department (J.T.), Cochin Hospital, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France.
The e-Sim'Cup adapted emergency medicine simulation challenges for remote participation during COVID-19. This virtual format successfully maintained educational best practices and improved participants' clinical skills and confidence.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Emergency Medicine Simulation
- Virtual Learning Environments
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the transformation of traditional in-person medical conferences and simulation-based training into virtual formats.
- The established Sim'Cup, a hands-on simulation challenge, required adaptation to maintain its educational value in an online setting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and evaluate the e-Sim'Cup, a novel virtual simulation-based challenge for emergency medicine training.
- To assess the educational effectiveness, participant satisfaction, and skill development in a remote simulation environment.
Main Methods:
- Development of the e-Sim'Cup concept, enabling remote participants to control avatars in a simulation room via a website and smartphone.
- Conducting two virtual simulation scenarios per team, followed by self-debriefing and organizer-led debriefing.
- Evaluation using the Educational Practices Questionnaire, participant satisfaction surveys, and qualitative analysis of debriefings.
Main Results:
- Twenty-seven participants in nine teams engaged in the e-Sim'Cup events.
- High Educational Practices Questionnaire scores (72/80) indicated the presence of best educational practices.
- Participants reported improvements in communication, clinical skills, self-confidence, and crisis resource management, despite some technical challenges.
Conclusions:
- The e-Sim'Cup is a viable and effective hybrid remote simulation concept for emergency medicine training.
- The virtual format successfully maintained educational best practices and participant engagement.
- The e-Sim'Cup concept is reproducible in various simulation centers, supporting the future of remote medical education.
