Ebola Emergency Preparedness: Simulation Training for Frontline Health Care Professionals
Abstract Introduction At Brigham and Women's Hospital, we identified the need for a comprehensive training program designed to prepare frontline staff to safely manage a patient with Ebola viral disease (EVD). The primary goal of this program was to ensure the safety of staff, patients, and the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Association of American Medical Colleges
2016-08-01
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| Series: | MedEdPORTAL |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10433 |
| _version_ | 1818405617389273088 |
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| author | Dara Ann O'Keeffe Dorothy Bradley Linda Evans Nirma Bustamante Matthew Timmel Roopa Akkineni Deborah Mulloy Eric Goralnick Charles Pozner |
| author_facet | Dara Ann O'Keeffe Dorothy Bradley Linda Evans Nirma Bustamante Matthew Timmel Roopa Akkineni Deborah Mulloy Eric Goralnick Charles Pozner |
| author_sort | Dara Ann O'Keeffe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Introduction At Brigham and Women's Hospital, we identified the need for a comprehensive training program designed to prepare frontline staff to safely manage a patient with Ebola viral disease (EVD). The primary goal of this program was to ensure the safety of staff, patients, and the general public by training staff in the correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE) before, during, and after care of patients with EVD. Methods We delivered a 4-hour experiential training program to frontline health care professionals who would be expected to care for a patient with EVD. The program occurred in a simulation center with multiple flexible spaces and consisted of demonstration, multiple skills practice sessions, and a patient simulation case. We analyzed completed pre- and posttraining questionnaires. The questionnaire assessed their subjective level of confidence in three key areas: donning and doffing PPE, performing clinical skills while wearing PPE, and management of a contamination breach. Results This program was effectively deployed in the STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation over a 4-month period, with 220 health care professionals participating in the training and 195 participants completing the pre-/posttraining questionnaires. Our intervention significantly increased the confidence of participants on each primary objective (p = .001 for all three stations). Discussion This interprofessional simulation-based program has been shown to be a well-received method of training clinicians to manage patients collaboratively during an EVD outbreak. Our intent is that the skills taught in this training program would also be transferable to management of other infectious diseases in the clinical setting. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T08:58:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a0c5e97b8cbc4f2ca80b84b523822b43 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2374-8265 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T08:58:54Z |
| publishDate | 2016-08-01 |
| publisher | Association of American Medical Colleges |
| record_format | Article |
| series | MedEdPORTAL |
| spelling | doaj.art-a0c5e97b8cbc4f2ca80b84b523822b432022-12-21T23:08:52ZengAssociation of American Medical CollegesMedEdPORTAL2374-82652016-08-011210.15766/mep_2374-8265.10433Ebola Emergency Preparedness: Simulation Training for Frontline Health Care ProfessionalsDara Ann O'Keeffe0Dorothy Bradley1Linda Evans2Nirma Bustamante3Matthew Timmel4Roopa Akkineni5Deborah Mulloy6Eric Goralnick7Charles Pozner81 Senior Lecturer in Surgical Education, National Surgical Training Centre, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland2 Nursing Simulation Program Director, Brigham and Women's Hospital3 Program Director, Center for Nursing Excellence, Brigham and Women's Hospital4 Fellow in International Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital5 Accountable Care Organization Consultant, Allina Health6 Analyst, ABT Associates, Inc7 Associate Chief Nurse, Brigham and Women's Hospital8 Medical Director of Emergency Preparedness, Brigham and Women's Hospital10 Medical Director, Neil and Elise Wallace STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation, Brigham and Women's HospitalAbstract Introduction At Brigham and Women's Hospital, we identified the need for a comprehensive training program designed to prepare frontline staff to safely manage a patient with Ebola viral disease (EVD). The primary goal of this program was to ensure the safety of staff, patients, and the general public by training staff in the correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE) before, during, and after care of patients with EVD. Methods We delivered a 4-hour experiential training program to frontline health care professionals who would be expected to care for a patient with EVD. The program occurred in a simulation center with multiple flexible spaces and consisted of demonstration, multiple skills practice sessions, and a patient simulation case. We analyzed completed pre- and posttraining questionnaires. The questionnaire assessed their subjective level of confidence in three key areas: donning and doffing PPE, performing clinical skills while wearing PPE, and management of a contamination breach. Results This program was effectively deployed in the STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation over a 4-month period, with 220 health care professionals participating in the training and 195 participants completing the pre-/posttraining questionnaires. Our intervention significantly increased the confidence of participants on each primary objective (p = .001 for all three stations). Discussion This interprofessional simulation-based program has been shown to be a well-received method of training clinicians to manage patients collaboratively during an EVD outbreak. Our intent is that the skills taught in this training program would also be transferable to management of other infectious diseases in the clinical setting.http://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10433Editor's ChoiceSimulationTrainingInfectious DiseaseEbola |
| spellingShingle | Dara Ann O'Keeffe Dorothy Bradley Linda Evans Nirma Bustamante Matthew Timmel Roopa Akkineni Deborah Mulloy Eric Goralnick Charles Pozner Ebola Emergency Preparedness: Simulation Training for Frontline Health Care Professionals MedEdPORTAL Editor's Choice Simulation Training Infectious Disease Ebola |
| title | Ebola Emergency Preparedness: Simulation Training for Frontline Health Care Professionals |
| title_full | Ebola Emergency Preparedness: Simulation Training for Frontline Health Care Professionals |
| title_fullStr | Ebola Emergency Preparedness: Simulation Training for Frontline Health Care Professionals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ebola Emergency Preparedness: Simulation Training for Frontline Health Care Professionals |
| title_short | Ebola Emergency Preparedness: Simulation Training for Frontline Health Care Professionals |
| title_sort | ebola emergency preparedness simulation training for frontline health care professionals |
| topic | Editor's Choice Simulation Training Infectious Disease Ebola |
| url | http://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10433 |
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