Application of high-fidelity simulation in critical care residency training as an effective learning, assessment, and prediction tool for clinical performance

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess: 1) the impact of the HFS curriculum on residents' knowledge and skills, and 2) the correlation between learning outcomes and the clinical performance. An HFS-based curriculum was implemented for junior residents prior to their ICU rotations. Residents completed written tests before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the curriculum and were assessed on their performance during the simulation sessions. Clinical performance was evaluated using global rating for knowledge, clinical skills, and leadership and decision-making skills. Complete data on pre-, post-test, simulation performance assessment, and clinical performance evaluation were available for 69 residents. Residents scored higher on their written post-test (64.6) compared with the pre-test (57.0) (p<0.01). The simulation performance of residents improved between their first (3.43) and second (3.60) sessions (p<0.05). Post-test scores correlated poorly with simulation performance (r=0.03-0.28). Multivariable linear regression analysis revealed that clinical performance correlated better and significantly with simulation performance than the post-test for knowledge and clinical skills. HFS is an effective training strategy, and can also be a complementary assessment tool to the written examinations and has better correlation with clinical performance.