Evaluation of a teaching laboratory using a cadaver model for tube thoracostomy(1)

A prior study evaluated the efficacy of a dog laboratory to teach residents chest tube thoracostomy. This study evaluated a similarly structured program using human cadavers. A prospective repeat measure study of chest tube thoracostomy placement training was performed in a university laboratory setting using human cadavers. Ten Emergency Medicine residents were given a written pretest, followed by training. Resident attempts were then timed. The following day, a repeat test was administered. Three weeks later, a third written post-test was conducted. The written test scores improved for every participant. Mean times for procedure completion improved from 86 sec to 34 sec during the first session, and remained stable over 4 attempts from 30 sec to 32 sec during the second session. This approach to teaching clinical procedures should be considered for Emergency Medicine residency programs and for continuing education courses that emphasize procedural skills.     

A Comprehensive, Unembalmed Cadaver-based Course in Advanced Emergency Procedures for Medical Students

Background: Preparing medical students for residency in emergency medicine involves education in many areas of knowledge and skill, including instruction in advanced emergency procedures. Objectives: To outline the logistics involved in running a training course in advanced emergency procedures for fourth‐year medical students and to report students' perceptions of the impact of the course. Methods: The course is a cadaver‐based training laboratory that utilizes several teaching modalities, including a Web‐based syllabus and online streaming video, didactic lecture, hands‐on practice with models and ultrasound, and hands‐on practice with unembalmed (fresh) cadavers. The course focuses on seven emergent procedural skills, including deep venous access via the subclavian, internal jugular, and femoral veins; tube thoracostomy; saphenous vein cutdown; intraosseous line placement; and emergency cricothyrotomy. The course is taught by attending emergency physicians and anatomy department faculty. After completion of the course, students reported their self‐assessments on a five‐point Likert scale. Data were evaluated using a paired t‐test (two‐tailed). Results: Thirty‐three students completed the evaluation. The students reported a mean (± standard deviation [SD]) increase in their understanding of the indications for all procedures from 3.3 (± 1.1) before to 4.8 (± 0.4) after the course (p = 0.004, 95% CI = 0.7 to 2.0). The students reported a mean increase in their understanding of how to perform all procedures from 2.1 (± 0.9) before to 4.6 (± 0.6) after the course (p = 0.003, 95% CI = 1.9 to 3.0). The students reported a mean increase in their comfort level performing all procedures from 1.6 (± 0.8) before to 4.2 (± 0.7) after the course (p < 0.001, 95% CI = 2.0 to 2.9). Conclusions: These findings support the value of an advanced emergency procedural training course using an unembalmed cadaver‐based laboratory and incorporating several teaching modalities.     

A New Model for Teaching Corneal Foreign Body Removal

Objective: To determine whether a skills laboratory for corneal foreign body and rust ring removal improves self-assessed skill and confidence.
Methods: A prospective trial was conducted as part of the didactic curriculum of a university-based residency program in emergency medicine (EM). A convenience sample of 26 EM residents and five fourth-year medical students participated. The skills laboratory used model corneas made by coating 3.2-cm glass spheres with a 1–2-mm film of paraffin. Foreign bodies were simulated by embedding small pieces of metal into the paraffin. Rust rings were simulated by dipping a hot, straightened paper clip into a rust-colored crayon and then into the paraffin. The model eyes fit into a life-sized model of a human head. Participants removed the foreign bodies and rust rings under supervision, using the slit lamp. Each participant anonymously completed a questionnaire before and after participating in the skills laboratory. The questionnaire recorded educational level, previous experience, and self-assessed comfort and skill levels (0 = lowest, 10 = highest).
Results: Most (66%) of the participants had not previously removed a corneal foreign body; 86% had not previously removed a rust ring. On a ten-point scale, the median comfort level for removing a foreign body rose from 2 to 7, and the self-assessed skill level rose from 1 to 7 (p = 0.0001). Similar improvements in self-assessed comfort and skill levels were seen for rust ring removal.
Conclusions: Participation in this skills laboratory significantly improved the self-reported comfort and self-assessed skill levels in removing corneal foreign bodies and rust rings. This technique provides useful practice of a fine-motor procedural skill requiring eye-hand coordination prior to supervised application of these skills in clinical practice.     

Predictive Value of Letters of Recommendation vs Questionnaires for Emergency Medicine Resident Performance

Objective: To evaluate the predictive value of standard letters of recommendation (LORs) vs preprinted questionnaires (PPQs) for resident performance at one emergency medicine (EM) residency program.
Methods: A retrospective association of LORs and PPQs with intraining resident performance ratings was done at one EM residency program. The residency application files of EM residents who completed the program were reviewed to locate files that had LORs and PPQs written by the same author. Seventeen resident files contained 32 LOR/PPQ pairs. These LORs and PPQs were submitted in a blinded fashion to 3 outside EM residency directors. Each LOR and PPQ was evaluated for the applicant's suitability for the speciality of EM, medical knowledge, procedural skills, interpersonal skills, motivation, and overall rank. The scores given by the outside reviewers were compared with resident performance ratings determined by 5 EM attending physicians who evaluated the residents along the same 6 dimensional ratings.
Results: Statistically, no differences were found between the LORs and PPQs in predicting resident performance.
Conclusions: PPQs may substitute for LORs in the evaluation of resident applicants.     

Current Status of Academic Emergency Medicine within Academic Medicine in the United States

ABSTRACT
Objective : To characterize the status of emergency medicine within U.S. academic medical centers.
Methods : All accredited emergency medicine residency programs and all four-year allopathic medical schools in the United States were identified. Institutions were defined as academic medical centers based upon NIH research grant funding. These institutions were ranked using five measures of academic stature: a survey of medical school deans, a survey of internal medicine residency directors, level of research funding, characteristics of the student body, and an unweighted composite variable reflecting overall academic stature. The relationship between institutional academic stature and an empiric scale of institutional affiliation with emergency medicine was assessed.
Results : Sixty-two institutions were designated academic medical centers. These medical schools captured 90% of all NIH grant monies awarded in fiscal year 1990. Twenty-six of 87 emergency medicine residency programs (30%) were closely affiliated with one of these medical schools. Within academic medical centers, the presence of a residency or an academic department of emergency medicine was inversely associated with the medical school deans' ranking (p < 0.005), research rank (p < 0.001), and composite academic rank (p < 0.0001).
Conclusion : The majority of emergency medicine residency programs (70%) are not closely affiliated with institutions receiving the bulk (90%) of NIH resources for research. Within the institutions receiving the majority of NIH funding, there is a quantitatively and statistically significant inverse association of institutional emergency medicine affiliation and institutional academic rank.     

The Development and Evaluation of a Geriatric Emergency Medicine Curriculum

Objective : To summarize the processes used to develop a curriculum and model of care for the emergency medical treatment of elder patients and to assess the efficacy of the teaching material in a pilot course.
Methods : A survey of emergency medicine (EM) residency directors and geriatric fellowship directors was used to identify key topics for inclusion in the didactic material. An interdisciplinary consensus process was used to develop didactic as well as teaching material in geriatric EM. Pretests and posttests were administered to 46 participants in the initial course to assess knowledge gain. Subjective course evaluations were also done.
Results : Test scores significantly increased from 54% correct on the pretest to 77% correct on the posttest (p < 0.001). Significant improvement in knowledge as judged by pretest and posttest results occurred in 6 of the 7 teaching modules. Subjective evaluations demonstrated good to excellent ratings for each module as well as the overall workshop.
Conclusions : The process of developing a curriculum for geriatric EM is described. The initial training of instructors was effective in improving participants' knowledge of geriatric issues in EM. Participants considered the training to be effective. The effect of the training on the emergency care of elder persons remains to be determined.     

Prospective Evaluation of Emergency Medicine Instruction for Rotating First–postgraduate–year Residents

Objective: To determine whether either bedside teaching alone (group A) or bedside teaching with written course materials (group B) improved written examination scores, satisfaction with the rotation, or clinical grades of rotating PGY1 residents.
Methods: A prospective, controlled educational trial was conducted. Sixty–five PGY1 residents from diverse specialties rotated in the ED for one month over a ten–month study period, and were included in the study. The PGY1 residents were assigned to group by month of rotation. All the PGY1 residents received unstructured bedside teaching by emergency medicine (EM) residents and faculty. In addition, group B received written course materials on day 1.
Results: Mean posttest scores were higher than mean pretest scores for the interns considered as a whole (p < 0.0001), but mean pretest, posttest, and clinical grades were comparable across instructional groups. Mean satisfaction ratings were higher for group A than for group B (p < 0.015). The interns specializing in EM achieved higher mean test scores (p < 0.013) and clinical grades (p < 0.003) than did the interns specializing in another medical specialty.
Conclusion: Both instructional methods were associated with improved written test performance. Written course materials did not augment bedside teaching in terms of test scores, clinical grades, or satisfaction. with the rotation. At a university–based, high–volume ED, bedside teaching offers educational benefit to rotating PGY1 residents that may not be augmented by written course materials.     

Redefining Emergency Medicine Procedures: Canadian Competence and Frequency Survey

OBJECTIVE: To redefine the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (RCPS) procedural skills list for Canadian emergency medicine (EM) residents through a national survey of EM specialists to determine procedural performance frequency and self-assessment of competence. METHODS: The survey instrument was developed in three phases: 1) an EM program directors survey identified inappropriate or dated procedures, endorsing 127 skills; 2) a search of EM literature added 98 skills; and 3) an expert panel designed the survey instrument and finalized a list of 150 skills. The survey instrument measured the frequency of procedure performance or supervision, self-reported competence (yes/no), and endorsement of one of four training levels for each skill: undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), knowledge only, or unnecessary (i.e., too infrequently performed to maintain competence). RESULTS: All 289 Canadian EM specialists were surveyed by mail; 231 (80%) responded, 221 completed surveys, and 10 were inactive. More than 60% reported competence in 125 (83%) procedures, and 55 procedures were performed at least three times a year. The mean competence score was 121 (SD +/- 17.7, median = 122) procedures. Competence score correlation with patient volume was r = 0.16 (p = 0.02) and with hours worked was r = 0.19 (p = 0.01). Competence score was not associated with year or route (residency vs grandfather) of certification. Each procedure was assigned to a training level using response consensus and decision rules (UG: 1%; PG: 82%; unnecessary: 17%). CONCLUSIONS: A survey of EM clinicians reporting competence and frequency of skill performance defined 127 procedural skills appropriate for Canadian RCPS postgraduate training and EM certification.     

Effectiveness and safety of small-bore tube thoracostomy (≤20 Fr) for chest trauma patients: A retrospective observational study

IntroductionTube thoracostomy is an important treatment for traumatic hemothorax and pneumothorax. The optimal tube diameter remains unclear. To reduce invasiveness, we use small-bore chest tubes (≤20 Fr) for all trauma patients for whom tube thoracostomy is indicated in our emergency department (ED). The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and safety of small-bore tube thoracostomy for traumatic hemothorax or pneumothorax.MethodWe conducted a retrospective observational study at a single emergency medical center. This study included adult patients (≥18 years old) who had undergone tube thoracostomy for chest trauma in the ED during the 5 years from October 2013 to September 2018. We used 20 Fr chest tubes or 8 Fr pigtail catheters. The examined outcome was tube-related complications, such as tube obstruction, retained hemothorax, and unresolved pneumothorax.ResultsA total of 107 tube thoracostomies were performed in 102 patients. The mean Injury Severity Score of these patients was 17.8 (±9.6), and the mean duration of the tube placement period was 3.9 days (±1.8). Eight patients developed tube-related complications (7.8%) (retained hemothorax: 4 patients (3.9%), unresolved pneumothorax: 4 patients (3.9%)). None of these cases were caused by tube obstruction. Although the drainage itself was effective, they underwent definitive invasive interventions to stop bleeding or air leak.ConclusionOur study showed that the use of small-bore (≤20 Fr) chest tubes to treat traumatic hemothorax/pneumothorax achieved the purposes of tube thoracostomy. It might be possible to safely manage chest trauma with small-bore chest tubes.     

Musculoskeletal injection skills competency in physical medicine and rehabilitation residents: a method for development and assessment

An educational module was developed in attempt to satisfy two main objectives: to develop and implement a methodology for instruction of generally encountered injection techniques in the practice of physical medicine and rehabilitation and to implement an objective assessment format to measure attainment of these skills. Guidelines for this module were developed in consideration of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) physical medicine and rehabilitation residency program requirements and ACGME Outcome Project. Eleven physical medicine and rehabilitation residents participated in a 1-day didactic/laboratory workshop covering injection education and techniques, followed by a supervised 2-wk practice session. Knowledge acquisition and skill attainment were measured via before and after multiple-choice written examination and simulated patient encounters utilizing anatomic models. An increase in knowledge was observed on the multiple-choice examination from pretest to posttest (pretest, 59.3%; posttest, 90.6%). Before instruction, 0 of 11 residents were able to perform any of the injection techniques (14 injection techniques and one sterile technique). At completion of the module, 7 of 11 residents (64%) competently performed 15 of 15 techniques (100%), 3 of 11 (26%) competently performed 14 of 15 techniques (93%), and 1 of 11 (9%) competently performed 11 of 15 techniques (73%). Participation in this module resulted in substantial acquisition of knowledge and skills regarding musculoskeletal injections for physical medicine and rehabilitation residents. This workshop provided a framework for the definition of baseline competency in this clinical skill area.     

Animal procedure laboratory surveys: Use of the animal laboratory to improve physician confidence and ability

Animal laboratories have been used for many years to teach procedures. Our department has a weekly swine laboratory devoted to training residents, interns and students in resuscitative procedures. Physicians who participated in our swine procedure laboratory over the past three years were queried as to their prelaboratory and postlaboratory comfort levels with six different resuscitative procedures, and 57 (76%) physicians responded. Statistical analysis of the data showed significant improvement in comfort levels for all six procedures. Every responder felt the swine laboratory helped or will help them perform the procedures on humans. We also surveyed all U.S. emergency medicine residency program directors from established programs regarding the status of their animal procedure laboratories, and 67 of the 68 (98%) directors responded. Of these responders, 62% offer an animal procedure laboratory. Overall, 97% of the residency directors rated the laboratory successful, and 97% of the residents rated the laboratory successful. Therefore, we conclude that an ongoing emergency medicine animal procedure laboratory is a valuable tool for improving physician-in-training ability and confidence.     

Emergency Medicine Career Change: Associations with Performances in Medical School and in the First Postgraduate Year and with Indebtedness

Objective: Emergency medicine has been identified as the specialty that has gained the most young physicians who have changed their careers. To identify factors that may have contributed to such career changes, the authors compared the characteristics of three groups of physicians trained at their medical school: those who chose and stayed in emergency medicine, those who migrated into emergency medicine from other specialties, and those who moved out of emergency medicine.
Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted. The sample consisted of physicians who chose emergency medicine as their careers at graduation and stayed in the specialty ( n = 24), those who migrated from other specialties into emergency medicine ( n = 51), and those who moved out of emergency medicine ( n = 10). This sample was obtained from a total of 2,173 graduates of Jefferson Medical College between 1978 and 1987. The three groups of physicians were compared according to their academic performances both during medical school and after graduation. The dependent variables were freshman and sophomore grade point averages (GPAs), written clinical examination scores, scores on National Board of Medical Examiners examination (Parts I, II, and III), and residency program directors' ratings. Age and indebtedness at medical school graduation and board certification status also were examined.
Results: Those physicians who stayed in emergency medicine and those who migrated from other specialties into emergency medicine had similar measures of academic performance, but both of these groups had higher academic performance measures and higher board certification rates than did the physicians who moved out of emergency medicine. Those who stayed in emergency medicine had the highest mean debt in the senior year of medical school.
Conclusions: High academic performance and high indebtedness are factors associated with choosing or staying in the specialty of emergency medicine.     

Medical Student Career Advice Related to Emergency Medicine

Objective: To describe the advisors and the advice given to residency candidate interviewees interested in specializing in emergency medicine (EM).
Methods: All interviewees at a university-based EM residency program were surveyed. Data were collected anonymously and included demographic information, characteristics of each applicant's medical school, career advice by non-EM faculty, and access to advisors who are residency-trained in and practicing EM.
Results: Of 114 interviewees, 104 (91%) completed the survey. Only 45% of the respondents reported they were assigned an emergency physician (EP) advisor by their school, and 38% sought advice informally from an EP. Of those students receiving advice from an EP, 70% reported their advisor was residency-trained in EM. Most (57%) respondents reported receiving negative advice concerning a career in EM from non-EM medical school faculty. Of the 59 students reporting negative advice, 18 (31%) received negative comments from non-EM residency program directors, 23 (39%) from non-EM department chairs, and 4 (7%) from medical school deans. The presence of a residency training program increased the chances of a student's being assigned an EP advisor, but neither an EP advisor nor the departmental status of EM within the students' institutions was associated with receipt of negative advice.
Conclusions: Students considering specializing in EM often receive negative advice or have no assigned EP advisor. These factors may adversely affect entry into the field of EM.     

Physical Diagnosis Skills of Physicians in Training: A Focused Assessment

Objective: To assess the proficiency of emergency medicine (EM) trainees in the recognition of physical findings pertinent to the care of the critically ill patient.
Methods: Fourteen medical students, 63 internal medicine (IM) residents, and 47 EM residents from three university-affiliated programs in Philadelphia were tested. Proficiency in physical diagnosis was assessed by a multimedia questionnaire targeting findings useful in emergencies or related to diseases frequently encountered in the ED. Attitudes toward diagnosis not based on technology, teaching practices of physical examination during EM training, and self-motivated learning of physical diagnosis also were assessed for all the EM trainees.
Results: With the exception of ophthalmology, the EM trainees were never significantly better than the senior students or the IM residents. They were less proficient than the IM residents in cardiology, and not significantly different from the IM residents in all other areas. For no organ system tested, however, did they achieve less than a 42.9% error rate (range: 42.9–72.3%, median = 54.8%). There was no significant improvement in proficiency over the three years of customary EM training. The EM residents who had received supervised teaching in physical diagnosis during training achieved a significantly higher cumulative score. The EM residents attributed great clinical importance to physical diagnosis and wished for more time devoted to its teaching.
Conclusions: These data confirm the recently reported deficiencies of physical diagnosis skills among physicians in training. The results are particularly disturbing because they relate to EM trainees and concern skills useful in the ED. Physical diagnosis should gain more attention in both medical schools and residency programs.     

Declining Rate of Cricothyrotomy in Trauma Patients with an Emergency Medicine Residency: Implications for Skills Training

Objective: To report the change in cricothyrotomy rate with emergency medicine (EM) residency development and to address the implications for training in this skill.
Methods: A retrospective chart review was used to determine the cricothyrotomy rate at a 1,000-bed urban Level-1 trauma center with EM, surgery, and anesthesiology residencies. All adult trauma patient visits to the ED between July 1, 1985, and June 30, 1995, were reviewed. The cricothyrotomy rate was defined as the total number of cricothyrotomies per trauma admissions during a study phase.
Results: The study period was divided into 3 phases. Phase 1 (academic years 1985–1989): prior to the inception of the EM residency; phase 2 (academic years 1990–1992): initiation and establishment of the residency; and phase 3 (academic years 1993–1994): full implementation of the EM residency. The cricothyrotomy rate during phase 1 was 1.8% (95% CI: 1.6 to 2.0), vs 1.1% (95% CI: 0.0 to 2.8) and 0.2% (95% CI: 0.0 to 0.2) during phases 2 and 3, respectively.
Conclusions: The cricothyrotomy rate decreased with the full implementation of the EM residency. Whether this trend was an effect of the presence of an EM faculty and residency training program, a parallel approach to airway management nationwide, or another unidentified factor will require further investigation. Nonetheless, given the increasing rarity of this procedure, it is likely that many EM, surgical, and anesthesiology residents will not acquire clinical experience with this technique during training.     

Augmenting the critical care data base of junior medical students with an emergency medicine lecture curriculum: a controlled study

A mandatory lecture course in emergency medicine, consisting of 13 lectures, was given to junior medical students over 3 years at Texas Tech University Regional Academic Health Center--El Paso. The performance of the students on a 25-question pretest and posttest was compared to a statistically similar group of their classmates on geographically separate campuses of Texas Tech University School of Medicine undergoing an otherwise comparable junior year clinical curriculum. Both groups exhibited improvement in posttest scores from pretest score values; additionally, students exposed to the lecture series at Texas Tech--El Paso performed significantly higher on the posttest, compared to the other campuses. We conclude that some emergency medicine material is successfully learned by junior medical students during their required third year clerkships; however, important learning objectives within the domain of emergency medicine can be most successfully taught if a mandatory junior year lecture course in emergency medicine is also incorporated into the third year curriculum.     

Teaching sedation and analgesia with simulation

Objective.This study reports on the efficacy of using the anesthesia simulator to teach sedation and analgesia to nurses. This provision of sedation and analgesia to a patient is accomplished with the goal of maintaining the ability of the patient to respond purposefully to auditory ortactile stimuli. Methods.Nurses working in areas of the hospital where conscious sedation is performed were the participants in this sedation and analgesia training course. Prior to the training session, the participants read the American Society of Anesthesiology Practice guidelines for sedation and analgesia by non-anesthesiologists.At the time of the training session, each participant completed a written pretest, had an introduction to sedation and analgesia with four clinical crisis teaching scenarios using the anesthesia simulator, a practical exam using the simulator, and a written post-test. Each participant was also given the opportunity to complete an evaluation of the session. Results.Twenty nurses completed the training session. The written tests had a maximum possible score of 30. Mean score on the written pretest was 22.9 ±3.54, and mean score on the written post-test was 26.0 ± 4.24 (p< 0.001). Seventeen of the twenty subjects scored higher on the post-test. Mean practical exam score was 5.5 of a possible 6.0. Mean participant rating of the education session was 3.75 (1 = poor, 4 =excellent). All but one participant rated the length of the training sessionas “about right.” Conclusions.The anesthesia simulator provides an excellent tool for teaching conscious sedation skills to hospital nurses. The participants' test performance improved following the session, and they also rated the educational experience as excellent. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.