Preparing House Officers for Emergencies in a Psychiatric Setting with Simulation-Based Learning

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychiatric Training
• Clinical Simulation

Background:

• House officers often lack confidence managing psychiatric emergencies.
• Simulation-based learning offers a safe environment for skill development.
• There is a need to improve emergency preparedness in psychiatric settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of simulation-based learning on house officers' confidence in managing psychiatric emergencies.
• To assess the effectiveness of a simulation training program at the start of psychiatric rotations.

Main Methods:

• Developed and implemented simulation-based learning for house officers.
• Included three realistic scenarios: non-fatal hanging, non-suicidal self-injury, and olanzapine pamoate post-injection syndrome.
• Utilized a mixed-methods approach for training evaluation.

Main Results:

• Participants showed significantly increased confidence in managing all three emergency scenarios (p < 0.001).
• Trainees found simulations realistic, immersive, and valuable for practicing skills.
• Peer-based learning in a safe environment enhanced the training impact.

Conclusions:

• Simulation-based learning is an acceptable and effective method for increasing confidence in managing psychiatric emergencies.
• This training can improve the quality of care and preparedness of doctors in psychiatric environments.