Abstract 244: Real World Evaluation of Implementing a Mock Cardiac Arrest Program

Abstract

Introduction: In 2019, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) began rolling out a national initiative to create a standardized mock code training program through the Resuscitation Education Initiative (REdI). We partnered with REdI and the local REdI Mock Code Program team at a Midwestern VA medical center to evaluate the launch of this mock cardiac arrest training program using a mixed methods approach. Methods: The REdI mock cardiac arrest program provided training to VA medical center clinical and non-clinical staff using didactic, small group, and hands-on simulation activities over a 2-day site visit in January 2019 where all facets of the resuscitation team were reviewed. Following this training visit at one VA medical center, 10 mock cardiac arrests were conducted between March 2019 and December 2019. One mock cardiac arrest included a hospital-wide activation and nine were conducted on individual units without activation of the cardiac arrest response team. The research team was composed of clinical and methodological experts who observed 8 of the mock cardiac arrests. We used an observation template to record structured data elements and take field notes during the mock code (e.g., how participants made decisions, assigned roles and quality of communication between the participants). At the end of the mock code, facilitators and the study team collected oral and written feedback from the participants. Results: In the 8 mock cardiac arrests observed, we identified 54 participants. Participants overwhelmingly rated the mock cardiac arrests as positive (83.3%, 45/54). Debriefing-feedback after the mock cardiac arrest was identified as the most helpful aspect (42.6%, 23/54). Areas for improving implementation of the mock cardiac arrest training program focused primarily on the need for a better introduction to the exercise. This included understanding the manikin’s functionality (9.3%, 5/54) and the expectation that participants should perform CPR just as they would in an actual cardiac arrest event (7.4%, 4/54). Two critical takeaways frequently cited by participants related to performance during the mock cardiac arrest were a need for better communication (20.4%, 11/54) and defined roles (18.5%, 10/54). Conclusions: Implementation of a mock cardiac arrest program was positively received by participants at a VA medical center. Moreover, participants identified both opportunities for improving resuscitation performance and optimizing learning experiences as part of program implementation.