How I Do It: Teaching and Applying Qualitative Methods to Improve Surgical Simulation Design and Implementation.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Qualitative Research Methodology
• Simulation-Based Learning

Background:

• Qualitative methodology is crucial for understanding complex educational and clinical scenarios.
• Developing effective training programs for qualitative research is essential for medical trainees.
• Simulation-based learning offers a practical approach to mastering research methodologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a simulation-based learning curriculum for trainees to understand and apply qualitative methodology.
• To assess the feasibility of using grounded theory principles within a simulation context.
• To refine a simulation curriculum for teaching de-escalation communication skills to surgery residents.

Main Methods:

• A surgical simulation fellow applied grounded theory principles to evaluate a piloted simulation curriculum.
• The curriculum included "just-in-time" de-escalation training, simulated patient encounters, and debriefing sessions.
• Video recordings of all components were transcribed, and thematic analysis was performed using first and second-level coding.

Main Results:

• Three key themes emerged from the analysis: Escalation Spirals and SP case portrayal, Safety Codes, and Rule Confusion.
• The "Escalation Spirals" theme highlighted the dynamic nature of simulated patient interactions.
• Identified "Safety Codes" and "Rule Confusion" provided actionable insights for improving the simulation design and logistics.

Conclusions:

• Teaching qualitative methods via a practice-based simulation format is feasible.
• This approach has the potential to simultaneously improve educational content and the safety of simulation-based curricula.
• The findings support the integration of qualitative methodology training into simulation-based medical education.