Use of High-Fidelity Simulation as an Adjunct to Basic Life Support Training To Promote Team-Based Resuscitation...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Emergency Medicine
• Simulation-Based Training

Background:

• The American Heart Association (AHA) Basic Life Support (BLS) curriculum prioritizes technical resuscitation skills.
• Traditional BLS training offers limited opportunities to develop crucial higher-level skills like leadership and communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if supplementing the traditional AHA Heartcode BLS course with high-fidelity teamwork simulations improves mastery of higher-level resuscitation skills.
• To assess the impact of simulation on medical students' self-efficacy in real hospital resuscitation scenarios.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involved 24 first-year medical students undergoing the AHA Heartcode BLS course followed by a 90-minute high-fidelity simulation session.
• The simulation included two resuscitation scenarios with a student-led debriefing, followed by facilitator debriefing.
• Student proficiency and feedback were collected via anonymous online surveys using a 0-10 slider scale and qualitative comments.

Main Results:

• Proficiency in technical skills was attributed equally to both BLS course and simulation.
• Higher-level skills (leadership, communication, teamwork) were predominantly credited to the teamwork simulation.
• Students reported increased realism and self-efficacy due to the simulation component.

Conclusions:

• Team-based resuscitation simulations effectively augment traditional BLS training by enhancing perceived competence in team dynamics.
• High-fidelity simulations increase students' self-efficacy for participating in actual hospital resuscitations.
• Further studies with larger samples and objective data are recommended, considering formal team-based BLS certification.