• Michelle Chiu, Abeer A Arab, Robert Elliott, and Viren N Naik.
• Department of Anesthesiology, The Ottawa Hospital, 1053 Carling Ave, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. mchiu@ottawahospital.on.ca
• Can J Anaesth. 2012 Mar 1;59(3):280-7.

PurposeA preoperative machine check is imperative, yet machine faults are missed despite experience. We hypothesized that a simulation training session would improve junior residents' ability to perform a machine check beyond the level of final year residents who received only didactic training.MethodsIn 2005, an experiential machine check training session was introduced into residency training at the postgraduate year 1 (PGY-1) level. Three weeks later, the simulation residents were asked to perform a machine check and detect ten preset faults. The control group consisted of PGY-5 residents who had received a didactic anesthesia machine lecture during their residency; these control residents were asked to perform the same machine check as the simulation residents. Data were collected from 2005 to 2008 with each cohort of incoming PGY-1 residents and graduating PGY-5 residents. When the first group of PGY-1 residents became PGY-5 residents in 2009, they were invited to return for a retention test. In all tests, the number of faults detected was recorded, and the machine check was evaluated using a checklist.ResultsThirty-seven simulation residents and 27 control residents participated in the study. Simulation residents had significantly higher checklist scores than the control residents, and they identified more machine faults (both P < 0.001). Twenty-one simulation residents repeated the study in their senior year, and they continued to achieve higher checklist scores and identify more machine faults than the control residents (both P < 0.001).ConclusionOur results suggest that an experiential training session allowed junior residents to achieve skills superior to those of senior colleagues after a five-year residency. This training was retained for two to four years as they continued to outperform their comparative controls.

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