• Philip Aidan Martin, Lyndsay Loughins, Nicola Weatherup, and Stephen Mullen.
• From the Emergency Department, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.
• Pediatr Emerg Care. 2021 Dec 1; 37 (12): 621623621-623.

IntroductionAdolescents are attending emergency departments (EDs) in increasing numbers, accounting for 21% attendances in the United Kingdom. A recent report by the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People highlighted deficiencies in the support offered by EDs to adolescents.AimThe aim of this study was to develop a high-fidelity simulation-based course focused on managing common adolescent presentations to the ED.MethodologyA 1-day mixed-modality course comprising of simulations, lectures, and skill stations, mapped to the pediatric and emergency medicine curriculum, was designed. The faculty developed and delivered 8 high-fidelity simulations. Precourse and immediate postcourse questionnaires were used to assess confidence levels and gain qualitative data. Delayed feedback was collected at 3 months.ResultsThere were 36 participants; 86% (n = 31) completed the precourse feedback, 96% (n = 34) completed the postcourse feedback, and 47% (n = 17) completed the delayed feedback. There was a statistically significant increase in self-reported confidence across all domains with a median increase of 21.25% immediately, sustained at 20% on delayed 3-month feedback. Qualitative feedback noted a change in practice, "I used (the knowledge) regularly while working in children's A + E."ConclusionsThis was a feasible, high-fidelity simulation-based study day covering the key components of adolescent medicine. The sustained increase in confidence at 3 months and the positive qualitative and quantitative feedback are supportive of the use of simulation to improve adolescent emergency care.Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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