Educational Perspectives

Abstract

Technological breakthroughs are rarely matched by increased human competence. Expert Modeling aligns human innovation with technological innovation to enhance competence and productivity .— Martyn Carruthers Many possible paradigms can be used to demonstrate expert modeling. In this case, we use development of neonatal resuscitation skills as an example. For resuscitation efforts to affect patient outcomes effectively, educators must design curricula that improve clinicians’ performances. The quality of the resuscitation provided depends on the effectiveness of the resuscitation education. In neonatal resuscitation, clinicians are responsible for assisting critically ill neonates as they transition from fetal to neonatal life. The primary focus of the instructional methodology in neonatal resuscitation training should be on the learner and the transformation required in the evolution from novice to expert. However, because failures in neonatal transition are rare, neonatal responders cannot gain sufficient experience in the real domain. Therefore, it is vital to determine the best methods to shorten the timeline in trainees’ progression from novice to expert. Accordingly, we must understand what differentiates a novice from an expert. The dictionary definitions of an expert include: “those having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience; someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific distinguished domain.” Systematic differences between experts and more novice individuals nearly always reflect attributes acquired by experts during deliberate practice and extensive experience. From this argument, it stands to reason that a neonatologist who has significant delivery room experience should possess expert technical skills, thought processes, and behaviors when resuscitating critically ill newborns. Contrast this with the skills of a new intern who has just completed an initial neonatal resuscitation program …