Board 102 - Program Innovations Abstract Development of a Novel Simulation Based Return to Work Course for Paediatric Trainees (Submission #767)

Abstract

Introduction/Background Prolonged absence from the workplace can lead to deterioration of skills.1 A return to work programme can help staff revisit aspects of practice that they may have lost touch with, thereby restoring competence and confidence. While there are formal occupational health procedures to oversee a gradual return to normal working pattern, there are no educational programmes to support a trainee doctor’s return to work. We designed a simulation based programme to support paediatric doctors return to work after prolonged absence and evaluated its usefulness for our participants. This one day course focuses on both clinical and team working aspects of clinical practice and is delivered using high fidelity immersive simulation. Methods We used pre-course and post course questionnaires to evaluate the course. The questionnaire was based on a five point Likert scale from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree". Trainees’ views were sought about their confidence in managing acute paediatric and neonatal conditions, as well as their confidence in managing discharge of patients, breaking bad news and launching safeguarding procedures. Twenty four trainees attended five courses, which were delivered between September 2012 and July 2013. Compared to precourse, post course trainees felt more confident in their ability to: lead a team in acute paediatric (P = .011) and neonatal emergencies (P = .000), provide effective handover (P = .003), deliver bad news (P = .000), manage discharge of patients (P = .001) and initiate safeguarding procedures (P = .050). Conclusion Feedback shows that after attending the course trainees felt more confident in managing acute neonatal and paediatric emergencies and situations involving difficult communication. Scenarios involving combination of clinical, communication and team based skills were developed to cover a broad spectrum of skills, which will be useful in day-to-day practice. National guidelines exist regarding slow reintroduction to work to improve clinician’s skills and confidence and to reduce impact on patient safety.2,3 The educational benefits of simulation based training are well recognized. Our novel approach in using simulation based learning to deliver "return to work" training showed that it improved trainee’s confidence. In the future similar, training programmes can be developed for other medical specialities and for multi-professional use.