Implementation of a workshop for mass casualty incident triage training using an immersive virtual reality simulation.

Objective: We offered a workshop at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine to teach the Sort-Assess-Lifesaving Interventions-Treatment/Transport (SALT) triage protocol for responding to mass casualty incidents (MCIs) using an immersive virtual reality (VR) simulator. Here, we report workshop outcomes. Methods: After a 1-h didactic on the basics of triage protocols, workshop participants rotated through three skill stations at which learners learned how to use the VR headset and controllers, practiced applying SALT triage skills through a tabletop exercise, and then finally used our VR simulator for training responses to MCIs. During their encounter with VR, participants applied their new knowledge to triaging and treating the victims of an explosion in a virtual subway station. After a brief orientation, participants entered the scene to treat and triage virtual patients who had various life-threatening (e.g., acute arterial bleed, penetrating injury, pneumothorax, amputations) and non-life-threatening injuries (lacerations, sprains, hysteria, confusion). The simulator generated a performance report for each workshop attendee to be used for debriefing by a skilled facilitator. Results: Participants were mostly trainees (residents), all of whom properly initiated their encounter with global sort commands (walk and wave) to identify the most critically injured. On average, participants correctly treated 92% of 18 injuries, with all bleeding injuries being properly controlled (tourniquets or wound packing). On average, participants correctly tagged 87.7% of 11 patients, but only took the pulse of 67% of the 11 patients. Learners had difficulty with cases involving embedded shrapnel and properly tagging patients who were stable after treatments. Conclusions: Our VR simulator provided a practical, portable, reproducible training and assessment system for preparing future emergency medical systems (EMS) medical directors to teach their EMS professionals the triage and lifesaving intervention treatment skills needed to save lives.

First Responder Virtual Reality Simulator to train and assess emergency personnel for mass casualty response.

As mass casualty incidents continue to escalate in the United States, we must improve frontline responder performance to increase the odds of victim survival. In this article, we describe the First Responder Virtual Reality Simulator, a high-fidelity, fully immersive, automated, programmable virtual reality (VR) simulation designed to train frontline responders to treat and triage victims of mass casualty incidents. First responder trainees don a wireless VR head-mounted display linked to a compatible desktop computer. Trainees see and hear autonomous, interactive victims who are programmed to simulate individuals with injuries consistent with an explosion in an underground space. Armed with a virtual medical kit, responders are tasked with triaging and treating the victims on the scene. The VR environment can be made more challenging by increasing the environmental chaos, adding patients, or increasing the acuity of patient injuries. The VR platform tracks and records their performance as they navigate the disaster scene. Output from the system provides feedback to participants on their performance. Eventually, we hope that the First Responder system will serve both as an effective replacement for expensive conventional training methods as well as a safe and efficient platform for research on current triage protocols.

Ultra-Tight Host-Guest Binding with Exceptionally Strong Positive Cooperativity.

Cooperativity plays a critical role in self-assembly and molecular recognition. A rigid aromatic oligoamide macrocycle with a cyclodirectional backbone binds with DABCO-based cationic guests in a 2 : 1 ratio in high affinities (Ktotal ≈1013  M-2 ) in the highly polar DMF. The host-guest binding also exhibits exceptionally strong positive cooperativity quantified by interaction factors α that are among the largest for synthetic host-guest systems. The unusually strong positive cooperativity, revealed by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and fully corroborated by mass spectrometry, NMR and computational studies, is driven by guest-induced stacking of the macrocycles and stabilization from the alkyl end chains of the guests, interactions that appear upon binding the second macrocycle. With its tight binding driven by extraordinary positive cooperativity, this host-guest system provides a tunable platform for studying molecular interactions and for constructing stable supramolecular assemblies.

Building a RAFFT: Impact of a professional development program for women faculty and residents in emergency medicine.

Background: Women comprise 28% of faculty in academic departments of emergency medicine (EM) and 11% of academic chairs. Professional development programs for women are key to career success and to prevent pipeline attrition. Within emergency medicine, there is a paucity of outcomes-level data for such programs. Objectives: We aim to measure the impact of a novel structured professional development curriculum and mentorship group (Resident and Faculty Female Tribe, or RAFFT) within an academic department of EM. Methods: This prospective single-center curriculum implementation and evaluation was conducted in the academic year 2020-2021. A planning group identified potential curricular topics using an iterative Delphi process. We developed a 10-session longitudinal curriculum; a postcurriculum survey was conducted to assess the perceived benefit of the program in four domains. Results: A total of 76% of 51 eligible women attended at least one session; for this project we analyzed the 24 participants (47%) who attended at least one session and completed both the pre- and the postsurvey. The majority of participants reported a positive benefit, which aligned with their expectations in the following areas: professional development (79.2%), job satisfaction (83.3%), professional well-being (70.8%), and personal well-being (79.2%). Resident physicians more often reported less benefit than expected compared to fellow/faculty physicians. Median perceived impact on career choice and trajectory was positive for all respondents. Conclusions: Success of this professional development program was measured through a perceived benefit aligning with participant expectations, a positive impact on career choice and career trajectory for participants in each career stage, and a high level of engagement in this voluntary program. Recommendations for the successful implementation of professional development programs include early engagement of stakeholders, the application of data from a program-specific needs assessment, early dissemination of session dates to allow for protected time off, and structured discussions with appropriate identification of presession resources.

Stable pseudo[3]rotaxanes with strong positive binding cooperativity based on shape-persistent aromatic oligoamide macrocycles.

New aromatic oligoamide macrocycles with C3-symmetry bind a bipyridinium guest (G) to form compact pseudo[3]rotaxanes involving interesting enthalpic and entropic contributions. The observed high stabilities and strong positive binding cooperativity are found in few other host-guest systems.

Dipropinonates of Sugar Alcohols as Water-Soluble, Nontoxic CPAs for DMSO-Free Cell Cryopreservation.

Sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and erythritol, four readily available sugar alcohols with poor or no membrane permeability, are converted into their corresponding dipropionates by acylating their primary hydroxyl groups. With enhanced membrane permeability, these diesters are expected to permeate the cell membranes and, upon their hydrolysis, release the corresponding sugar alcohols inside the cells. NIH-3T3 cells incubated with these diesters before being frozen at -80 °C exhibited considerably higher total recovery over those incubated with the free sugar alcohols or media only. Among the four diesters, those of sorbitol, especially mannitol, showed cryoprotective effects comparable to that shown by 5% DMSO. This work has demonstrated the feasibility of converting readily available, naturally occurring compounds into membrane-permeable derivatives that serve as water-soluble, nontoxic alternatives to DMSO.

Using Virtual Reality Simulation Environments to Assess Competence for Emergency Medicine Learners.

Immersive learning environments that use virtual simulation (VS) technology are increasingly relevant as medical learners train in an environment of restricted clinical training hours and a heightened focus on patient safety. We conducted a consensus process with a breakout group of the 2017 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference "Catalyzing System Change Through Health Care Simulation: Systems, Competency, and Outcomes." This group examined the current uses of VS in training and assessment, including limitations and challenges in implementing VS into medical education curricula. We discuss the role of virtual environments in formative and summative assessment. Finally, we offer recommended areas of focus for future research examining VS technology for assessment, including high-stakes assessment in medical education. Specifically, we discuss needs for determination of areas of focus for VS training and assessment, development and exploration of virtual platforms, automated feedback within such platforms, and evaluation of effectiveness and validity of VS education.

Emergency Medicine Resident Orientation: How Training Programs Get Their Residents Started.

INTRODUCTION: The first formal orientation program for incoming emergency medicine (EM) residents was started in 1976. The last attempt to describe the nature of orientation programs was by Brillman in 1995. Now almost all residencies offer orientation to incoming residents, but little is known about the curricular content or structure of these programs. The purpose of this project was to describe the current composition and purpose of EM resident orientation programs in the United States. METHODS: In autumn of 2014, we surveyed all U.S. EM residency program directors (n=167). We adapted our survey instrument from one used by Brillman (1995). The survey was designed to assess the orientation program's purpose, structure, content, and teaching methods. RESULTS: The survey return rate was 63% (105 of 167). Most respondents (77%) directed three-year residencies, and all but one program offered intern orientation. Orientations lasted an average of nine clinical (Std. Dev.=7.3) and 13 non-clinical days (Std. Dev.=9.3). The prototypical breakdown of program activities was 27% lectures, 23% clinical work, 16% skills training, 10% administrative activities, 9% socialization and 15% other activities. Most orientations included activities to promote socialization among interns (98%) and with other members of the department (91%). Many programs (87%) included special certification courses (ACLS, ATLS, PALS, NRP). Course content included the following: use of electronic medical records (90%), physician wellness (75%), and chief complaint-based lectures (72%). Procedural skill sessions covered ultrasound (94%), airway management (91%), vascular access (90%), wound management (77%), splinting (67%), and trauma skills (62%). CONCLUSION: Compared to Brillman (1995), we found that more programs (99%) are offering formal orientation and allocating more time to them. Lectures remain the most common educational activity. We found increases in the use of skills labs and specialty certifications. We also observed increases in time dedicated to clinical work during orientation. Only a few programs reported engaging in baseline or milestone assessments, an activity that could offer significant benefits to the residency program.

'Speed advising' for medical students applying to residency programs: an efficient supplement to traditional advising.

BACKGROUND: Over time, Residency Match dynamics fluctuate with some specialties experiencing increases in medical student popularity. Academic departments with limited resources must devise methods for coping with increased demand for their specialty. Students perceive traditional programs on Match mechanics as inadequate. Subsequently, faculty are confronted with demands for more personal attention from more students. OBJECTIVES: We developed a strategy for providing specialty-specific residency match advising to large numbers of students. METHODS: The 'speed-advising' session (SAS) was developed to address the common questions and concerns that medical students pose during the Match process and to provide advisees with a breadth of faculty perspectives. Two SASs were offered over a 2-week period. After the sessions, students and faculty were surveyed regarding their experience. RESULTS: Twenty-six students pursued our specialty in the 2015 Match (26 of 234, 11.1%). Twenty-three (89%) participated in the SAS. Seventy-four percent of students (17 of 23) and all faculty completed the post-session survey. Students found the SAS to be informative, helpful and an efficient use of time. Common discussion topics included: career goals, to which programs and how many to apply, and how academic record impacts their likelihood of matching in our specialty. Students would have preferred more time with each faculty; however, most (77%) conceded that their questions were adequately answered. Faculty-favored speed advising over traditional advising (86%), primarily due to estimated time savings of 7.3 h per faculty member. CONCLUSIONS: In preparing students for the Match, specialty-specific speed advising offers an efficient supplement to traditional advising.

Virtual alternative to the oral examination for emergency medicine residents.

INTRODUCTION: The oral examination is a traditional method for assessing the developing physician's medical knowledge, clinical reasoning and interpersonal skills. The typical oral examination is a face-to-face encounter in which examiners quiz examinees on how they would confront a patient case. The advantage of the oral exam is that the examiner can adapt questions to the examinee's response. The disadvantage is the potential for examiner bias and intimidation. Computer-based virtual simulation technology has been widely used in the gaming industry. We wondered whether virtual simulation could serve as a practical format for delivery of an oral examination. For this project, we compared the attitudes and performance of emergency medicine (EM) residents who took our traditional oral exam to those who took the exam using virtual simulation. METHODS: EM residents (n=35) were randomized to a traditional oral examination format (n=17) or a simulated virtual examination format (n=18) conducted within an immersive learning environment, Second Life (SL). Proctors scored residents using the American Board of Emergency Medicine oral examination assessment instruments, which included execution of critical actions and ratings on eight competency categories (1-8 scale). Study participants were also surveyed about their oral examination experience. RESULTS: We observed no differences between virtual and traditional groups on critical action scores or scores on eight competency categories. However, we noted moderate effect sizes favoring the Second Life group on the clinical competence score. Examinees from both groups thought that their assessment was realistic, fair, objective, and efficient. Examinees from the virtual group reported a preference for the virtual format and felt that the format was less intimidating. CONCLUSION: The virtual simulated oral examination was shown to be a feasible alternative to the traditional oral examination format for assessing EM residents. Virtual environments for oral examinations should continue to be explored, particularly since they offer an inexpensive, more comfortable, yet equally rigorous alternative.