Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Improves Emergency Medicine Residents' Ability to Perform Emergency Cricothyrotomy

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Emergency Medicine
• Surgical Simulation

Background:

• Emergency cricothyrotomy (EC) is a critical skill for Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians.
• Simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) is an effective competency-based education model for procedural training.
• Traditional training may not adequately prepare residents to perform EC to a mastery standard.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement an SBML curriculum for teaching EC to EM residents.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the SBML curriculum in improving EC performance.
• To assess the retention of EC skills at five months post-training.

Main Methods:

• EM residents underwent baseline, post-training, and 5-month retention testing using a task trainer.
• A 27-item checklist and Mastery Angoff approach determined the minimum passing standard (MPS) for mastery.
• Residents received deliberate practice until mastery was achieved.

Main Results:

• No residents achieved baseline mastery; 59% achieved mastery post-training.
• Checklist scores significantly improved from baseline to post-training.
• At 5 months, 71.4% of residents retained mastery, with some skill decay noted.

Conclusions:

• SBML effectively enhances EM residents' ability to perform EC in a simulated setting.
• Baseline assessment revealed deficiencies in traditional EC training methods.
• Retention data suggests the need for periodic deliberate practice to maintain EC proficiency.