Medical education
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Human error and system failures continue to play a substantial role in adverse outcomes in health care. Anaesthesia crisis resource management addresses many patient safety issues by teaching behavioural skills for critical events but it has not been systematically utilized to teach experienced faculty. ⋯ A unique and highly rated anaesthesia faculty course was created; participation made the faculty staff eligible for malpractice premium reductions. Self-reported CRM behaviours in participants' most significant difficult or critical events indicated an improvement in performance. These data provide indirect evidence supporting the contention that this type of training should be more widely promoted, although more definitive measures of improved outcomes are needed.
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To evaluate the use of simulation-based teaching in the medical undergraduate curriculum in the context of management of medical emergencies, using a medium fidelity simulator. ⋯ This study demonstrates that medical students value simulation-based learning highly. In particular, they value the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in a safe and realistic setting, to develop teamwork skills and to develop a systematic approach to a problem. A medium fidelity simulator is a valuable educational tool in medical undergraduate education.
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Standardised patients (SPs) are effective in evaluating communication skills, but not every training site may have the resources to develop and maintain SP programmes. ⋯ These results suggest that VT allows accurate evaluation of IDM skills in a format that is acceptable to orthopaedic surgeons. Videoconferencing technology may be useful in long-distance SP communication assessment for a variety of learners.
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In 1979, Harden described the first objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Harden's OSCE dramatically changed the assessment of professional competence because it used actors and choreographed scenarios to evaluate the performance of professional behaviours. ⋯ The time has come to undertake a sophisticated sociological investigation of how OSCEs affect medical practice, including the ways in which they shape doctor interaction with patients, families and other health professionals.