An Intensive, Simulation-Based Communication Course for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellows

Objective: Effective communication among providers, families, and patients is essential in critical care but is often inadequate in the PICU. To address the lack of communication education pediatric critical care medicine fellows receive, the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh PICU developed a simulation-based communication course, Pediatric Critical Care Communication course. Pediatric critical care medicine trainees have limited prior training in communication and will have increased confidence in their communication skills after participating in the Pediatric Critical Care Communication course. Design: Pediatric Critical Care Communication is a 3-day course taken once during fellowship featuring simulation with actors portraying family members. Setting: Off-site conference space as part of a pediatric critical care medicine educational curriculum. Subjects: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellows. Interventions: Didactic sessions and interactive simulation scenarios. Measurements and Main Results: Prior to and after the course, fellows complete an anonymous survey asking about 1) prior instruction in communication, 2) preparedness for difficult conversations, 3) attitudes about end-of-life care, and 4) course satisfaction. We compared pre- and postcourse surveys using paired Student t test. Most of the 38 fellows who participated over 4 years had no prior communication training in conducting a care conference (70%), providing bad news (57%), or discussing end-of-lif...
Source: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine - Category: Pediatrics Tags: Online Clinical Investigations Source Type: research