Who Trains the Trainers?: Development of a Faculty Bootcamp for Pediatric Emergency Medicine Resuscitation Procedures.

OBJECTIVES: Attending physicians in pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) must be able to perform lifesaving procedures, yet guidelines for maintaining procedural competency do not exist. We implemented a biannual 2-hour "bootcamp" designed to help PEM faculty maintain procedural competency. METHODS: A survey-based needs assessment was used to create a set of goals and objectives for the session and determine which procedural skills to include. Sessions of 4 simulated skills were held twice a year and limited to 12 faculty. Post-bootcamp evaluations were administered at the 1-year and 6-year marks to evaluate the usefulness of the training. RESULTS: Twenty-eight of our 55 current faculty members (50%) responded to the 6-year follow-up evaluation. Overall, the bootcamp was felt to be beneficial, with 64% of faculty rating it "great" (5) or "highly useful" (6) on a 6-point Likert scale. The majority of participants also rated the airway, vascular access, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation/defibrillator training favorably. Faculty who later had the opportunity to perform specific resuscitation procedures clinically felt that the circulation (cardiopulmonary resuscitation/defibrillator) and airway stations contributed to the success of their procedure performance. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical setting alone may be insufficient in maintaining procedural competency in lifesaving skills in PEM. Giving faculty the opportunity to practice these skills is feasible and can be effective in increasing confidence. Future training sessions should aim toward practicing to a defined mastery level.

Spinal Epidural Abscess in an Infant Presenting as Fever and Respiratory Distress.

A 9-month-old healthy female presented during winter to the emergency department with a chief complaint of fever and prominent respiratory symptoms. She was discharged on oseltamivir with a presumptive diagnosis of influenza. She returned to the emergency department 2 days later with continued fever and more upper respiratory symptoms. She was admitted for intravenous hydration to the observation unit with a diagnosis of viral illness (with viral testing that returned positive for adenovirus) and dehydration. When her high fevers continued, bloodwork that was concerning for leukocytosis, elevated inflammatory markers, and elevated alkaline phosphatase was obtained. During her workup for fever, a full body magnetic resonance imaging was performed, which revealed the diagnosis of a C3 to L5 spinal epidural abscess. This case demonstrates the difficulty of making this important diagnosis in a preverbal child presenting with a concurrent virus during winter viral season.