Situational Awareness of Sepsis by Residents in a Virtual Reality Simulation

Area of Science:

• Pediatric critical care
• Medical education
• Team communication

Background:

• Sepsis is a leading cause of death in children, necessitating early intervention.
• Pediatric residents are crucial in early sepsis recognition and communication.
• Understanding communication barriers is key to improving sepsis management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare sepsis recognition rates between pediatric residents and experts.
• To assess differences in verbalizing sepsis concerns in a virtual reality (VR) simulation versus a questionnaire.
• To identify barriers to effective sepsis communication in pediatric residency training.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational cohort study analyzing 68 VR simulations.
• Compared provider-nurse teams assessing pediatric sepsis cases.
• Analyzed verbalized sepsis concerns during simulation versus questionnaire responses.

Main Results:

• Residents verbalized sepsis concerns less frequently than experts (p=0.03).
• Residents were less likely to verbalize sepsis concerns than to endorse them on a questionnaire (p=0.004).
• Significant differences were observed in communication rates between residents and experts.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric residents may recognize sepsis but face barriers in communicating concerns during patient care.
• Targeted educational interventions focusing on team communication can enhance situational awareness.
• Improving communication may lead to better patient outcomes in pediatric sepsis cases.