A High-Fidelity Human Patient Simulation Initiative to Enhance Communication and Teamwork Among a Maternity Care Team.

OBJECTIVE: To use high-fidelity human patient simulation to enhance teamwork and communication during maternity care emergencies. DESIGN: Quality improvement initiative. SETTING/LOCAL PROBLEM: The labor and delivery team at a large suburban Level 2 facility in the Midwestern United States sought to apply evidence and use simulation to improve communication and teamwork. PARTICIPANTS: Approximately 170 maternity care staff members, including nurses, anesthesia providers, and pediatric and obstetric physicians. INTERVENTION/MEASUREMENTS: During each simulation, there were two scenarios with a debriefing session at the end of each. Teamwork and communication were evaluated using participant surveys. RESULTS: Participants reported improved communication (p = .031) and teamwork (p = .041) after simulation. Additionally, 81% of respondents believed that their ability to perform clinical skills improved. CONCLUSION: Use of high-fidelity human patient simulation was associated with improved teamwork and communication for a maternity care team. Simulation has been incorporated into standard education. We hope to sustain successful outcomes by providing ongoing simulation experiences for labor and delivery staff annually.

The Association of Shelter Veterinarians' 2016 Veterinary Medical Care Guidelines for Spay-Neuter Programs.

As community efforts to reduce the overpopulation and euthanasia of unwanted and unowned cats and dogs have increased, many veterinarians have increasingly focused their clinical efforts on the provision of spay-neuter services. Because of the wide range of geographic and demographic needs, a wide variety of spay-neuter programs have been developed to increase delivery of services to targeted populations of animals, including stationary and mobile clinics, MASH-style operations, shelter services, community cat programs, and services provided through private practitioners. In an effort to promote consistent, high-quality care across the broad range of these programs, the Association of Shelter Veterinarians convened a task force of veterinarians to develop veterinary medical care guidelines for spay-neuter programs. These guidelines consist of recommendations for general patient care and clinical procedures, preoperative care, anesthetic management, surgical procedures, postoperative care, and operations management. They were based on current principles of anesthesiology, critical care medicine, infection control, and surgical practice, as determined from published evidence and expert opinion. They represent acceptable practices that are attainable in spay-neuter programs regardless of location, facility, or type of program. The Association of Shelter Veterinarians envisions that these guidelines will be used by the profession to maintain consistent veterinary medical care in all settings where spay-neuter services are provided and to promote these services as a means of reducing sheltering and euthanasia of cats and dogs.

Impact of simulation-based extracorporeal membrane oxygenation training in the simulation laboratory and clinical environment.

INTRODUCTION: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a high-risk, complex therapy. Opportunities to develop teamwork skills and expertise to mitigate risks are few. Our objective was to assess whether simulation would improve technical and nontechnical skills in dealing with ECMO circuit emergencies and allow transfer of skills from the simulated setting to clinical environment. METHODS: Subjects were ECMO circuit providers who performed scenarios utilizing an infant simulator and functional ECMO circuit, followed immediately by video-assisted debriefings. Within the simulation laboratory, outcomes were timed responses, percentage of correct actions, teamwork, safety knowledge, and attitudes. Identification of latent safety threats (LSTs) was the focus of debriefings. Within the clinical setting, translation of learned skills was assessed by measuring circuit readiness and compliance with a cannulation initiation checklist. RESULTS: Nineteen subjects performed 96 simulations during enrollment. In the laboratory, there was no improvement in timed responses or percent correct actions. Teamwork (P = 0.001), knowledge (P = 0.033), and attitudes (P = 0.001) all improved compared with baseline. Debriefing identified 99 LSTs. Clinically, 26 cannulations occurred during enrollment. Median time from blood available to circuit readiness was 17 minutes (range, 5-95), with no improvement during the study. Compliance with the initiation checklist improved compared with prestudy baseline (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Simulation-based training is an effective method to improve safety knowledge, attitudes, and teamwork surrounding ECMO emergencies. On-going training is feasible and allows identification of LSTs. Further work is needed to assess translation of learned skills and behaviors into the clinical environment.

Simulation to assess the safety of new healthcare teams and new facilities.

INTRODUCTION: : Our institution recently opened a satellite hospital including a pediatric emergency department. The staffing model at this facility does not include residents or subspecialists, a substantial difference from our main hospital. Our previous work and published reports demonstrate that simulation can identify latent safety threats (LSTs) in both new and established settings. Using simulation, our objective was to define optimal staff roles, refine scope of practice, and identify LSTs before facility opening. METHODS: : Laboratory simulations were used to define roles and scope of practice. After each simulation, teams were debriefed using video recordings. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index was completed by each participant to measure perceived workload. Simulations were scored for team behaviors by video reviewers using the Mayo High Performance Team Scale. Subsequent in situ simulations focused on identifying LSTs and monitoring for unintended consequences from changes made. RESULTS: : Twenty-four simulations were performed over 3 months before the hospital opening. Laboratory debriefing identified the need to modify provider responsibilities. National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index scores and debriefings demonstrated that the medication nurse had the greatest workload during resuscitations. Modifying medication delivery was deemed critical. Lower Mayo High Performance Team Scale scores, implying less teamwork, were noted during in situ simulations. In situ sessions identified 37 LSTs involving equipment, personnel, and resources. CONCLUSIONS: : Simulation can help determine provider workload, refine team responsibilities, and identify LSTs. This pilot project provides a template for evaluation of new teams and clinical settings before patient exposure.

The Association of Shelter Veterinarians veterinary medical care guidelines for spay-neuter programs.

As efforts to reduce the overpopulation and euthanasia of unwanted and unowned dogs and cats have increased, greater attention has been focused on spay-neuter programs throughout the United States. Because of the wide range of geographic and demographic needs, a wide variety of programs have been developed to increase delivery of spay-neuter services to targeted populations of animals, including stationary and mobile clinics, MASH-style operations, shelter services, feral cat programs, and services provided through private practitioners. In an effort to ensure a consistent level of care, the Association of Shelter Veterinarians convened a task force of veterinarians to develop veterinary medical care guidelines for spay-neuter programs. The guidelines consist of recommendations for preoperative care (eg, patient transport and housing, patient selection, client communication, record keeping, and medical considerations), anesthetic management (eg, equipment, monitoring, perioperative considerations, anesthetic protocols, and emergency preparedness), surgical care (eg, operating-area environment; surgical-pack preparation; patient preparation; surgeon preparation; surgical procedures for pediatric, juvenile, and adult patients; and identification of neutered animals), and postoperative care (eg, analgesia, recovery, and release). These guidelines are based on current principles of anesthesiology, critical care medicine, microbiology, and surgical practice, as determined from published evidence and expert opinion. They represent acceptable practices that are attainable in spay-neuter programs.