Creation of a rating scale to teach Less Invasive Surfactant Administration (LISA) in simulation

Background: Simulation-based training is gaining increasing prominence in neonatology training. The Less Invasive Surfactant Administration (LISA) method is starting to be taught in simulation. The aim of this educational study was to develop and validate a rating scale for teaching the LISA method in simulation.

Methods: The Downing framework was used to create this performance-rating scale. A first version of the scale was submitted to 12 French and Belgian experts to obtain their opinions. Consensus was reached using a modified Delphi method. The performance of 40 pediatricians was then evaluated with this scale on a preterm neonate manikin simulating a neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. Each run was evaluated using the scale by two independent observers based on video recordings.

Results: The Cronbach alpha score of the rating scale was 0.72. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.91 and the scores between raters were not significantly different. Finally, this rating scale correctly distinguished the experienced from the inexperienced learners (p < 0.01).

Conclusions: This rating scale is one of the first rating scales for the evaluation and teaching of the LISA method in simulation. This tool has ample potential for use in clinical practice to evaluate the performance of surfactant administration in preterm neonates.