Pediatric Emergency Simulation Education in a Community Hospital

Abstract

Pediatric emergencies are infrequent at small community hospitals, leaving staff without the opportunity to build comfort, skill competency, and understanding of their roles during this situation. Simulation training is a way to provide this experience and increase team preparedness prior to a live patient emergency. With support from leadership at the project site, the pediatric emergency response team and the staff members of the Maternal-Child Health unit were invited to participate in simulation sessions for a pediatric code. Pre-brief and debrief meetings were held for each session to provide feedback and identify common themes throughout the sessions. Participants completed surveys before and after the simulation, using a Likert scale to assess their perceived comfort, skill competency, and understanding of their roles during a pediatric emergency. Overall, staff reported an increase in all categories following the simulation session. Areas for protocol and policy improvement were reported and common themes for team enhancement were identified. The project was found to be cost-effective and able to be replicated for future participants at the project site and other facilities.