Making the move: from traditional neonatal education to simulation-based training

Resuscitating neonates is a critical skill set for obstetric and neonatal care providers. The principles, knowledge, and skills of neonatal resuscitation as developed by the Neonatal Resuscitation Program are taught in a variety of ways to enhance learning including didactic, CD-ROM, hands-on-task training, and mock codes. Despite this variety of educational methods, studies have called into question the ability of the care provider to adequately perform neonatal resuscitation. Simulation-based training is gaining more recognition in healthcare as a method of training that incorporates adult learning theory, real-time clinical situations, and video debriefing of the scenario to allow a healthcare team an opportunity to practice skills and evaluate their performance. The Neonatal Resuscitation Program is including simulation-based training as an educational methodology to promote skill acquisition and performance enhancement in its providers.