A hybrid course was designed utilising areas of the Specific Learning Objectives (SLOs) within the new Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) curriculum launched in August 2021 [1]. Emergency Medicine (EM) trainees must develop a wide range of clinical knowledge, practical skills, as well as critical thinking and rapid decision-making ability to assess, resuscitate, and manage critically ill and injured patients. The low occurrence of these situations within the clinical arena results in significant challenges with regards to providing experience and training.
The new RCEM curriculum was reviewed with a focus on SLO 6 (Proficiently deliver key procedural skills in Emergency Medicine) and SLO 7 (Deal with complex or challenging situations in the workplace), and a one-day ST4 course was developed. Half of the course featured interactive presentations and hands-on procedural workshops with medical meat, models, and part-task trainers. The other half provided immersive simulation-based scenarios covering additional presentations and skills. Each session was facilitated by senior faculty who are experts in their respective domains. A high-definition audio-visual system streamed the simulation to the other candidates viewing it from the debriefing room. Each scenario was followed by a structured debriefing discussing technical and non-technical objectives. Pre- and post-course questionnaires were completed. The course ran in November 2021, March, and April 2022.
All trainees (n=29) provided scores on how useful they found the day, with an average score of 9.8 out of 10. The pre-course questionnaire highlighted that the trainees were looking to be more confident in approaching high acuity, low occurrence (HALO) procedures. In the post-course questionnaire, majority of the trainees described increased confidence and safe techniques learnt from being able to practise skills and drills on appropriate models and medical meat.
The post-course questionnaires were reflective of our course meeting SLO 6 and 7 of the new RCEM curriculum. The majority of trainees commented on feeling a lot more confident in approaching HALO procedures after having had the opportunity to practise during the course. Our plans are for all ED ST3/4s to attend in the next few months, with a view to this becoming a regular part of their training programme. Furthermore, we plan to develop advanced courses for higher speciality trainees, as these would be beneficial in meeting the RCEM curriculum outcomes but also ensuring trainee satisfaction and encourage confident and safe practice.
1. Royal College of Emergency Medicine, RCEM CURRICULUM. 2021. https://rcemcurriculum.co.uk/ [Accessed on 29/06/2022]
Preparation for ST4 (skills and drills in emergency medicine)
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