Screen-based simulation assessment for emergency medicine learners: a rapid review

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Simulation Technology
• Emergency Medicine Training

Background:

• The COVID-19 Pandemic necessitated remote assessment methods in medical training.
• Screen-based simulation (SBS) offers a physically distant alternative to traditional in-person simulation.
• This study evaluates SBS as an assessment tool for Emergency Medicine (EM) learners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare screen-based simulation (SBS) with in-person simulation for assessing clinical reasoning and communication skills in Emergency Medicine.
• To determine if SBS can differentiate learners by educational level.
• To gauge learner interest in SBS as an assessment method.

Main Methods:

• A rapid literature review was conducted using PubMed with specific search terms.
• Included studies were manually reviewed for relevance and adherence to inclusion/exclusion criteria.
• Seven pilot and small population studies met the criteria for analysis.

Main Results:

• SBS demonstrated comparable effectiveness to in-person simulation in assessing clinical competence and communication skills.
• SBS successfully differentiated EM learners based on educational level through clinical score clustering.
• Participant feedback indicated strong interest in SBS across various learner levels.

Conclusions:

• Despite limited current research, SBS shows potential as a supplementary or alternative assessment method in EM.
• SBS may be valuable for assessing clinical reasoning and communication skills and for learner stratification.
• Larger-scale studies are necessary to confirm the validity and reliability of SBS in EM assessment.