A discrete system simulation study in scheduling and resource allocation for the John A. Burns School of Medicine Clinical Skills Center.

ABSTRACT

The Center for Clinical Skills (CCS) at the University of Hawai'i's John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) trains medical students in a variety of medical practice education experiences aimed at improving patient care skills of history taking, physical examination, communication, and counseling. Increasing class sizes accentuate the need for efficient scheduling of faculty and students for clinical skills examinations. This research reports an application of a discrete simulation methodology, using a computerized commercial business simulation optimization software package Arena® by Rockwell Automation Inc, to model the flow of students through an objective structure clinical exam (OSCE) using the basic physical examination sequence (BPSE). The goal was to identify the most efficient scheduling of limited volunteer faculty resources to enable all student teams to complete the OSCE within the allocated 4 hours. The simulation models 11 two-person student teams, using resources of 10 examination rooms where physical examination skills are demonstrated on fellow student subjects and assessed by volunteer faculty. Multiple faculty availability models with constrained time parameters and other resources were evaluated. The results of the discrete event simulation suggest that there is no statistical difference in the baseline model and the alternative models with respect to faculty utilization, but statistically significant changes in student wait times. Two models significantly reduced student wait times without compromising faculty utilization.