Tag Archives: System Integration

Don’t Let the Theory Wonks Slow Down the Progress of Healthcare Simulation

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Those of us in the simulation community know well that when used appropriately and effectively simulation allows for amazing learning and contributes to students and providers of healthcare improving the craft. We also know there is very little published literature that conclusively demonstrates the “right way to do it”.

Yet in the scholarly literature there is still a struggle to define best practices and ways to move forward. I believe it is becoming a rate limiting step in helping people get started, grow and flourish in the development of simulation efforts.

I believe that part of the struggle is a diversity of the mission of various simulation programs ranging from entry level students to practicing professionals, varying foci on individualized learning incompetence, versus and/or team working communications training etc. Part of the challenges in these types of scholarly endeavors people try to describe a “one-size-fits-all“ approach to the solution of best practices. To me, this seems ridiculous when you consider the depths and breadth of possibilities for simulation in healthcare.

I believe another barrier (and FINALLY, the real point of this blog post 🙂  is trying to overly theorize everything that goes on with simulation and shooting down scholarly efforts to publish and disseminate successes in simulation based on some missing link to some often-esoteric deep theory in learning. While I believe that attachments to learning theory are important, I think it is ridiculous to think that every decision, best practice and policy in simulation, or experimental design, needs to reach back and betide to some learning theory to be effective.

As I have the good fortune to review a significant number simulation papers it is concerning to me to see many of my fellow reviewers shredding people’s efforts based on ties to learning theories, as well as their own interpretations on how simulation should be conducted. They have decided by reading the literature that is out there (of which there is very little, if any, conclusive arguments on best practices) has become a standard.

My most recent example is that of a paper I reviewed of a manuscript describing an experimental design looking at conducting simulation one way with a certain technology and comparing it to conducting the simulation another way without the technology. The authors then went on to report the resulting differences. As long as the testing circumstances are clearly articulated, along with the intentions and limitations, this is the type of literature the needs to appear for the simulation community to evaluate and digest, and build upon.

Time after time after time more recently I am seeing arguments steeped in theory attachments that seem to indicate this type of experimental testing is irrelevant, or worse yet inappropriate. There is a time and place for theoretical underpinnings and separately there is a time and place for attempting to move things forward with good solid implementation studies.

The theory wonks are holding up the valuable dissemination of information that could assist simulation efforts moving forward. Such information is crucial to assist us collectively to advance the community of practice of healthcare simulation forward to help improve healthcare globally.  There is a time to theorize and a time to get work done.

While I invite the theorist to postulate new and better ways to do things based on their philosophies, let those in the operational world, tell their stories of successes and opportunities as they are discovered.

Or perhaps it is time that we develop a forum or publication of high quality, that provides a better vehicle for dissemination of such information.

So…… in the mean time….. beware of the theory wonks. Try not to let them deter from your efforts to not only move your own simulation investigations forward, but to be able to disseminate and share them with the rest of the world!

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Filed under Curriculum, design, patient safety, return on investment

Simulation Programs, Hospitals and Health Systems: Where is the organizational fit?

Some excerpts taken from a plenary speech I delivered in Taipei, Taiwan recently to healthcare leaders and education directors. It is important that simulation programs position themselves within complex healthcare systems to be able to deliver maximal benefit to the organization. High performing simulation programs need to deliver more than educational resources to the organization.

 

 

 

 

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Value and Learning Propositions for Safety through Simulation – Don’t Sell Your Efforts Short

shutterstock_561835375aAll too often it is easy to be stuck in a mindset which can create tunnel vision. One of those time frames in the simulation world can come from an overall short-sightedness, into the usefulness, power, wisdom and change that can result from well-run simulation efforts. Many people have heard the adage “with simulation is within the debriefing that all the learning occurs.”  While phrases like this are meant to underscore the importance of the debriefing following a simulation if they are taken too literally they can result in a lack of recognition of total value of the simulation program investments and contributions.

This phenomenon is prevalent when evaluating the impact of simulation programs as part of patient safety efforts in healthcare systems in hospitals. In-situ simulation programs, or mock code evaluation programs are of unquestionable value to those of us who are in leadership in patient safety roles. Undoubtedly learning can occur during the simulation itself as I discussed in a previous blog post. Further, we all recognize the value of learning that can occur during well-run debriefing sessions. Lastly and perhaps most importantly great value can come from the information obtained during the simulation.

Scenario and debriefing sessions involved in in situ and other simulation programs that occur with practicing professional’s as participants have their limitations. First, and most practically is the operational recognition that healthcare professionals can only be kept “off-line” for a certain period of time to accomplish the simulation and debriefing. Secondly, some topics may be more sensitive than others and are not appropriate to be addressed directly with individuals during a debriefing that involves peers, as well as other healthcare colleagues. This point may be considered when evaluating the political and perceptions of your in-situ programs as received by the staff. Lastly, when you execute such a simulation there is only so much that can be absorbed at one point in time before cognitive overload becomes a significantly limiting factor.

Thinking traditionally from a “simulationist” point of view, is easy to think that all of the learning that will be recognized comes from the performance of the simulation combined with debriefing. With structure, planning and a systems-based approach to the simulation efforts, data can be gathered and analyzed to help a given hospital, or health system, understand the capabilities and limitation of their various clinical delivery systems. This can be invaluable learning for the system itself, which can then be incorporated into a plan of change to improve safety or in other cases efficiency in the delivery of care.

The given plan of change may incorporate additional educational efforts, policy, procedure or process changes that will be made in a more informed way than if the data from the simulation was not available. To garner such useful information at a systems-based level it is important that the curriculum integration be developed with consistent measurement strategies, objectives and tools that will allow meaning information to accrue.

A well planned, needs based targeted implementation strategy will create larger value than the simulation efforts occurring in a silo not connected to a larger strategic plan of improvement. If you think about a simulation event it is easy to picture small groups of people learning a great deal from the participation in the scenario or program. Simulation has the unique capability to abstract information to help provide insight into aspects of the patient care that both go smoothly as well as identify opportunities for improvement simultaneous with deployment of useful learning.

Once these opportunities are catalogued and recognized, a transformation of greater scale can take place through careful planning and implementation of further patient safety efforts with defined targets. Partnering with your risk management or patient safety colleagues to work on the integration plan can be valuable for increasing leadership buy-in for supporting your simulation efforts.

So I challenge you! If you are running relations in situ make sure that you keep in mind that your educational efforts during the simulation scenario are part of a bigger picture of increasing the safety and/or efficiency for providing care to patients, thus bringing a higher return on investment for the simulation efforts that you are conducting.

Until next time…… Happy Simulating!

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Evaluating Inpatient Crisis Response

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As the Medical Director of patient safety for a large healthcare system I can say that conducting unannounced “mock codes” (Inpatient Crisis Response Evaluation System is the title of our program) is a critical pillar of safety quality improvement efforts. WISER oversees our program and provides the evaluation and consultation service to many of our 20 hospitals in conjunction with and close collaboration with the local hospital physician and nursing leadership.

The unannounced part allows true system evaluation of such a response. The events are closely choreographed with our simulation team (led by a physician medical director), as well as the local hospital leadership. Our evaluation system has afforded us as a system, the opportunity to unveil many latent system threats as well as identify opportunities for targeted training efforts. With regard to simulation and training it is a TRUE needs analysis in this way.

With regard to acceptance, I believe that it is related to the maturity of the overall organization and the simulation personnel conducting the events. In the words of James Reason on high reliability organizations “They anticipate the worst and equip themselves to deal with it at all levels of the organization. It is hard, even unnatural, for individuals to remain chronically uneasy, so their organizational culture takes on a profound significance. Individuals may forget to be afraid, but the culture of a high reliability organization provides them with both the reminders and the tools to help them remember.” Thus I believe in highly mature safety culture organizations it is incumbent upon both the leadership and the healthcare clinicians to be accepting of “external” evaluations for such critical moments as inpatient crisis events.

I also believe that the naming of the program has significant implications. The title “Mock Code” in my opinion sounds somewhat trivial, extra, perhaps of marginal utility, or at the very least “fake.” If that is the intent, then I believe that is easier to argue that the events should be pre-planned and/or avoid being completely “unexpected”. However if the intent is to seriously evaluate a high reliability organization’s response to an unexpected patient situation, and identify needs, process improvement opportunities and uncover latent threats, I would argue for the unannounced methodology.

Our health system shares a deep commitment to continue on the journey to high reliability and believe our Inpatient Crisis Response Evaluation System is an important component of our success. As WISER is accredited by the SSH in Systems Integration (among other categories) we believe a fully integrated approach is necessary, very safe, feasible and our responsibility to execute and provide feedback to our health system.shutterstock_78054850_a

As anyone who provides actual care for patients there are risks and benefits to ALL decision that are made from therapeutics, to staffing, to salting the parking lot. There are certainly safety items that must be attended to in any of our simulation efforts, particularly those which occur in proximity to actual care. However carefully crafted programs, process and execution will ultimately ensure the benefits outweigh the risks.

I truly believe the undiscovered system latent threats to inpatients are a greater risk than the conducting of the mock code itself.

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