Simulation-Based Education in the Training of Newborn Care Providers—A Malaysian Perspective

Kwai-Meng Pong,Fook-Choe Cheah,Jerrold Tze-Ren Teo

doi:10.3389/fped.2021.619035

Kwai-Meng Pong, Fook-Choe Cheah + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.619035

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Abstract

Simulation-based education (SBE) is increasingly used as an education tool to improve learning for healthcare providers. In newborn care practice, SBE is used in the Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) and training in procedural skills. The NRP is a mandatory course in Malaysia for all house officers (interns) and medical officers (residents) during their pediatric rotation. Almost 30,000 of NRP providers have been trained over the last 5 years. The recent establishment of the Allied Healthcare Center of Excellence (AHCoE), an organization dedicated to promoting SBE, and Malaysian Society for Simulation in Healthcare (MaSSH) aims to enhance the integration of SBE into the healthcare training curriculum and set up a local healthcare simulation educator training program. Our experience in implementing SBE necessitated that we made several important choices. As there was no strong evidence to favor high-fidelity over low-fidelity simulation, and because simulation centers can be very costly to set up with limited resources, we chose SBE mainly in the form of low-fidelity and in situ simulation. We also identified an important developmental goal to train Malaysian instructors on structured debriefing, a critical activity for learning in SBE. Currently, debriefing is often carried out in our centers at an ad hoc basis because of time limitation and the lack of personnel trained. Finally, we aim to implement SBE further in Malaysia, with two axes: (1) the credentialing and recertification of physicians and nurses, and (2) the education of lay caregivers of high-risk infants before discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit.

Highlights

In the past 10 years, simulation-based education (SBE) has been increasingly used as an educational tool to improve learning for healthcare providers
When SBE is implemented by Simulation-Based Training in Newborn Care experienced healthcare educators, it allows learning from mistakes, safe experimentation, deliberate practice, and standardized assessment of competency [11]
With the increasingly higher number of medical graduates produced in countries such as Malaysia, there is as such, a declining opportunity for real-life neonatal resuscitation experiences for trainees1

Summary

INTRODUCTION

In the past 10 years, simulation-based education (SBE) has been increasingly used as an educational tool to improve learning for healthcare providers. The latest version of NRP integrated SBE with emphasis on team performance and behaviors during neonatal resuscitation It utilizes a multiple learning approach, i.e., online testing, online case-based simulations, practical casebased simulation and debriefing which focus on key behaviors such as communication, critical leadership, and team-work skills [12]. In a recent survey conducted informally through a neonatal simulation network in Malaysia, only five out of 32 (15.6%) hospitals run HFS These centers are SBE-dedicated establishments such as the Allied Healthcare Center of Excellence (AHCoE), and several academic teaching hospitals. In contrast to a dedicated simulation center, in situ simulation is held in the actual patient care setting in an effort to achieve a high level of fidelity and realism; for example, in the NICU, ambulance, small aircraft, or catheterization lab This training is valuable to assess, troubleshoot, or develop new system processes [2]. A mentorship program is planned to guide the novice simulation educator who just qualified

CONCLUSION

Findings

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