Effectiveness of Remote Simulation amongst EMS Professionals in Pune, India

Abstract

Introduction: The Sars CoV2 virus has spread havoc claiming millions of lives in its wake and the world health Organization (WHO) had declared it as a pandemic in 2020. Though medical education and clinical training has always laid more emphasis on face – to- face teaching and physical skill based hands-on training, lately various e-learning tools have become popular as teaching pedagogy due to the restriction of social distancing in the current COVID scenario. Simulation based learning plays a very important role in adding to non-technical skills and management of patient as a whole. Simulation through remote mode has gained major precedence in these last few years especially since the onset of COVID. The present study seeks to know the effectiveness of a single remote simulation session amongst Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals
 Objective: To assess the effectiveness of remote simulation in the management of cardiac arrest amongst EMS professionals.
 Study Design: Cross Sectional Descriptive Study.
 Place of Study: Symbiosis Centre for Health Skills (SCHS), Pune India in September 2021.
 Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in September 2021, amongst 80 Emergency Medical Professionals (EMPs) from Pune, India. American Heart Association (AHA) – Pre-course Self-Assessment Questionnaire for the year 2020 was utilized for the study to assess ECG interpretation competency among EMS Professionals before and after a remote simulation session.
 Results and Discussion: Time is of essence in a cardiac arrest scenario as any delay can cause exponential rise in the mortality rate. The COVID 19 era has severely restricted bedside learning and on site simulation. A healthy alternative has emerged in the form of remote simulation, which can ensure continuity of learning along with mitigation of the disease spread.
 Conclusion: The findings of the study are encouraging and should be followed up with larger sample size and multiple remote simulation sessions to gain further insight into the effectiveness of this unique tool. The COVID 19 era has severely restricted bedside learning and on site simulation. A healthy alternative has emerged in the form of remote simulation, which can ensure continuity of learning along with mitigation of the disease spread.