Gregory Schaefer, DO
Medical Director - Surgical Critical Care
West Virginia University School of Medicine
Morgantown, West Virginia, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Jennifer Sova, RN, MSN
Education and Training Coordinator
West Virginia University Hospital
Morgantown, West Virginia, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
James Bardes, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Title: Novel Delivery of Virtual FCCS Skill Stations During COVID-19 Pandemic
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic created barriers to delivering high-quality critical care education. FCCS is uniquely positioned as a vital resource for providers in rural and critical access hospitals who faced new challenges related to the pandemic. Utilizing novel scenarios and videoconferencing, students participated in live critical care simulations in safe environments.
Methods: FCCS didactics were completed on-line. Skill stations were adapted to a virtual format with cases lead by certified instructors. Each class was divided into groups of 5 which rotated through virtual skills rooms. A web-based survey was distributed before the course to assess student confidence in managing shock or respiratory failure. A post-course survey assessed impact upon student communication, decisiveness, teamwork, and leadership in critical situations. Students identified how the course impacted their ability to recognize critical illness and if the virtual format was a barrier to learning.
Results: Surveys were completed by 68 participants. 53% of students were RN's or advanced practice providers and 47% were resident physicians. 82% of students had 0-5 years of critical care experience. On a Likert-scale (0-5, 0 = not valuable, 5= very valuable), the overall value of the FCCS course was 4.28/5. Importantly 73% found the virtual environment was an effective teaching tool. Overall, most participants were not, or only slightly, confident in their ability to identify life threatening conditions prior to the FCCS course. While not statistically significant, their confidence increased with increased education. The FCCS course yielded significant improvements in decisiveness (92%), teamwork (87%), leadership (89%), and recognition of critical illness (92%). There was no significant difference in response to the questions by profession for either the pre- or post-course surveys.
Conclusions: These surveys demonstrate both the importance of delivering FCCS to a greater number of clinical providers as well as the success of utilizing a virtual platform to deliver critical care simulation. A lack of comparators between the pre- and post-course surveys can be resolved in future surveys. The similar positive response across the represented professions indicates benefit for offering FCCS to an inter-professional audience.