9 A Communication Tool for Emergency Medicine Residents to Improve Patient Care and Professional Development

Abstract

For every patient in the ED, a web of communication is created. A resident is at the center of this web – connecting team members in and outside the ED. Careful communication, a required ACGME competency, helps the team provide safe, high‐quality care and master their respective specialties. We designed a three module curriculum that supports ACGME core competencies by providing training in professional communication and a framework with which to organize patient data. In the first module, residents are introduced to the concept that there is more to communication than content alone. Other elements include context, audience and forum. Together, these components comprise relevant communication. The second module introduces the Disposition, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation, Safety (D‐SBARS) Framework, an ED modification of The Joint Commission's communication tool. This framework will enable the resident to focus on communicating the relevant data for a particular audience in an appropriate manner. In the last module, residents participate in a case‐based role‐play. After presentation of a complicated patient, residents are each assigned a communication task. They communicate with attendings, ED staff and consultants. Each role is played by senior residents. Finally, participants deliver presentations to the on‐coming team on “rounds” under time constraints, declining from two minutes to 30 seconds. Residents experience how the D‐SBARS tool helps them communicate critical clinical and safety.