Technology-Enhanced Simulation Improves Trainee Readiness Transitioning to Cardiothoracic Training

Objective: Transitioning from medical school and general surgery training to cardiothoracic (CT) surgical training poses unique challenges for trainees and patient care. We hypothesized that participation in technology-enhanced simulation modules that provided early exposure to urgent/emergent CT patient problems would improve cognitive skills and readiness to manage common urgencies/emergencies.

Design: Traditional and integrated cardiothoracic residents at our institution participated in a technology-enhanced simulation curriculum. The course comprised of didactics, hands-on simulation, virtual models, and mock oral examinations. Residents also were given a validated pretest and post-test to evaluate knowledge retention and integration. Resident performance was graded using a previously validated objective structured clinical examination. Resident perception of course usefulness and relevance was determined through the completion of a perception survey.

Setting: This study occurred at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine with the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. The facility used was the Peter Winter Institute for Simulation, Education and Research.

Participants: From 2013 to 2015, 25 traditional and integrated cardiothoracic residents participated in these training modules who have completed all portions of the simulation were used for analysis.

Results: For our participants, knowledge base significantly increased by 7.9% (pretest = 76.0% vs. post-test = 83.9%, p < 0.01). According to trained-rater evaluation, 93.6% of responses to the 11 objective structured clinical examination competencies were deemed adequate. Postcourse perception survey demonstrated 92% of participants scoring the sessions as important or very important toward development and confidence in managing the cardiothoracic scenarios. These findings were present despite historical assumption that these learners were prepared for complex patient care.

Conclusions: After completing a technology-enhanced course combining didactics, simulation, and real-time assessment, residents demonstrated objective improvements in cognitive skills and readiness in managing CT patients. Resident postcourse feedback indicated enhanced confidence, suggesting increased preparedness transitioning to CT surgery. This has strong implications for improved patient safety during these potentially labile transition periods.