SimWars.

BACKGROUND: Simulation use for training residents has become an expectation in emergency medicine in order to improve the educational dimensions of cognitive knowledge, critical thinking, psychomotor skills, and clinical performance. DISCUSSION: This article is a descriptive piece highlighting a novel group education format-"SimWars." The keys to a successful SimWars competition, including descriptions of necessary personnel and tips on effective case development, as well as lessons learned from its development and implementation, are described. After reading this article, educators will have the background necessary to implement their own simulation-enhanced training sessions. CONCLUSIONS: SimWars gives educators an opportunity to watch the decision-making process of the learners as they manage simulated complex scenarios in a cooperative competitive environment.

A novel simulation competition format as an effective instructional tool in post-graduate medical education.

OBJECTIVE: Medical simulation competitions are a growing reality. This study aims at exploring if a novel format of simulation competition (SIMCUP) can be an effective educational format in post-graduate education. DESIGN: We designed a 2-day event that included scientific educational lectures, an orientation to the competition, familiarization with the simulation lab, and competition time. Day 1 was devoted to preliminary rounds and was structured using an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)-like system. On day 2, the first four teams advanced to semi-finals and then to finals, which were held using a classical SimWars style. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: A total of 14 four-participant teams participated in the event over two editions (Ed.1 in 2015 and Ed.2 in 2016). INTERVENTIONS: External referees evaluated both technical and non-technical skills for each simulated scenario. Each participant was also administered pre- and post-test questionnaires covering self-perception about the confidence in managing simulated clinical cases, educational effectiveness, satisfaction with the simulation experience, and previous simulation training. MAIN RESULTS: Overall participants found SIMCUP a useful learning experience, rating it 10 [9, 10] and 10 [7.75-10] out of 10 for Ed.1 and Ed.2, respectively. Participants reported, using a 10-point semantic differential scale ranging from "1 - strongly disagree." to "10 - strongly agree," finding both days to be educationally effective: day 1 was rated 9 [7-10] and 9 [8-10] as day 2 was rated 8 [7-10] and 8 [7-10] for Ed. 1 and Ed. 2, respectively.Participants' self-perception regarding the confidence of managing the specific scenarios significantly improved immediately after the event as measured by pre- and post-questionnaires for all stations and during both editions. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that simulation competition can serve as an effective instructional format in residency training.