The effect of student‐observer‐led or faculty‐led debriefing on learning teamwork and communication skill during high fidelity patient simulation scenarios (719.2)

Abstract

The use of high fidelity patient simulations (HFPS) during preclinical medical education (PCME) is often limited because of lack of faculty and resources. However, studies have shown that HFPS can facilitate learning of physiology concepts as well as non-cognitive skills such as teamwork (TW) and communication (COM) skills. Therefore, finding a way to incorporate HFPS using less faculty time could improve the incorporation of HFPS into PCME. The hypothesis of the current study is that student-observer (SO) led debriefing will be as effective as faculty (F) led debriefing in improving TW and COM skills in first year medical students. Methods: First year medical students participate in 4 HFPS during medical physiology in teams of 6. A faculty member and two student observers were also included in each HFPS. Faculty used an evaluation tool based on TeamSTEPPS principles to assess TW and COM skills and used a Likert-like scale (1-9 with 5 being satisfactory). After the HFPS, teams were debriefed by either SO or F. A debriefing guide was provided for both SO and F. Results and Conclusions: Teams that received SO led debriefing (n=5) improved their evaluation score more than teams that had F led debriefing (n=4) (see graph). These data suggest that SO led debriefing may be preferable to F led debriefing in improving TW and COM skills in first year medical students. These findings may provide an avenue to reduce faculty time in HFPS which could enable greater incorporation of HFPS in PCME.