Have you ever created a simulation case with hidden objectives that the learners were not aware of? Would you ever purposefully try to trick or deceive learners in a simulation case?
Simulation can be used to reinforce clinical and procedural knowledge. It can teach important teamwork skills. It can also be used to learn about ourselves in morally and ethically challenging situations.
The app EMRA Basics of Emergency Medicine covers the 20 most common EM complaints in a concise manner. I first heard about it from Dr. Rob Orman’s (@emergencypdx) podcast (ERCast) where he endorsed it when it was only in book format. The book is great, thin, and it fits in a white coat pocket.
Here is an in-depth review of the app.
Should the manikin ever die in a simulation scenario?
Effective simulations require suspension of disbelief and willingness by learners to play along with the game created by the facilitators. Without this buy-in, learners could argue against discrepancies, simply on the basis that the scenario is not real. Learners give their trust that the educators will also play the same game, and that the rules will not change.
The simulation scenario starts and things are going well. The learners are on their game. Instability – recognized, managed. Initial orders – done. And then it all falls apart. We’ve all been there.
Keeping up with the literature these days is quite a daunting task. Medical information has increased exponentially over the past few decades and continues to do so. We spend a great deal of time and energy memorizing information which soon may become obsolete (see excerpt from the book The Half-Life of Facts by Arbesman).
Expecting physicians to keep a busy practice AND keep up with all the most current literature is impractical. By the time textbooks are published, the information is already a few years old and this puts us at risk of not practicing the most up to date and best evidence practice. We also know that with the increasing volume of information there has been new development on statistics on how to evaluate this vast amount of data. Most physicians are not properly equipped with the necessary statistical skills or time to analyze this vast amount of information.
So how DOES a practicing physician keep up with the most current, evidence-based medicine (EBM)? (more…)
I am set to graduate residency this June 2013 and among all the other things on my to-do list such as credentialing paperwork for my future employer is to explore disability insurance. Because I know very little about insurance, I decided to do some research.Take a poll and see the crowd-sourced results…
Case Writer: Clare Desmond, MD
Peer Reviewer and Editor: Nikita Joshi, MD