ORIGINAL ARTICLE   Free access

Minerva Anestesiologica 2018 December;84(12):1377-86

DOI: 10.23736/S0375-9393.18.12087-6

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Anesthesiology Resident Induction Month: a pilot study showing an effective and safe way to train novice residents through simulation

Federico L. BARRA ^{1, 2}, Luca CARENZO ¹, Jeffrey FRANC ^{1, 3}, Claudia MONTAGNINI ¹, Flavia PETRINI ⁴, Francesco DELLA CORTE ⁵, Pier Luigi INGRASSIA ¹ ✉

¹ SIMNOVA Interdepartmental Center for Innovative Learning and Simulation in Medicine and Allied Health Professions, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy; ² Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy; ³ Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada; ⁴ Department of Perioperative Medicine, Pain, Intensive Care and Rapid Response Systems, Chieti University Hospital, ASL 2 Abruzzo, Chieti, Italy; ⁵ Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Department of Translational Medicine, University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara, Italy

BACKGROUND: The transition of new residents from medical school to the post-graduate clinical environment remains challenging. We hypothesized that an introductory simulation course could improve new residents’ performance in anesthesiology.
METHODS: The Anesthesiology Residents Induction Month (ARIM) program was designed as a non-clinical simulation training program aiming at providing the theoretical and practical skills to safely approach, as junior anesthesiologists, the operating rooms. For each participant, specific knowledge, procedural skills and non-technical performance were assessed with a pre and post-test approach, before and immediately after the participation in the study.
RESULTS: Fifteen first-month residents participated in the study. As compared to pre-test, residents significantly improved in all three evaluated areas. Pre-test knowledge assessment mean improved from 56% to 73% in the post-test (P<0.001). In the procedural skills assessment, pre-test mean improved from 43% to 77% (P<0.001) and non-technical skills assessment improved from 3.17 to 4.61 (in a scale out of seven points) in the post-test (P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Data suggest that an intensive simulation-based program can be an effective way for first-year residents to rapidly acquire and develop basic skills specific to anesthesiology. There might be benefits to begin residency with a training program aiming at developing and standardizing technical and non-technical skills.

KEY WORDS: Graduate medical education - Patient simulation - Anesthesiology - Simulation training