Multidisciplinary Simulation Training Improves Surgical Resident Comfort With Airway Management

• Published in: The Journal of surgical research 2020-08, Vol.252, p.57-62
• Main Authors: Ritter, Kaitlin A., Horne, Charlotte, Nassar, Ahmed, French, Judith C., Prabhu, Ajita S., Lipman, Jeremy M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Airway management; Curriculum development; General surgery education; Multidisciplinary training; Surgical simulation
• ISSN: 0022-4804; 1095-8673
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2020.02.008

Airway management is an essential element of surgical training, but with fewer procedures performed during residency, simulation is crucial to fill educational gaps. We evaluated the effect of a multidisciplinary airway simulation on the comfort of general surgery residents in managing airways. All residents PGY 2-5 at a large academic general surgery residency program participated in a multidisciplinary airway management simulation. Precourse surveys evaluated self-perception of skills in three areas of airway management: surgical airway, basic ventilator strategies, and endotracheal intubation. Simulation consisted of didactic and procedural components and used high- and low-fidelity models including silicon airways, ventilators, porcine trachea, and airway adjuncts. Instruction was provided by anesthesia and otolaryngology faculty. Postcourse assessment was performed with a four-level Likert questionnaire. Results were analyzed using paired t-tests. Of the 19 residents surveyed, 37% of residents had 1-5 h and 32% had 5-10 h of prior airway instruction. Significant increases in mean comfort were observed across all three studied areas. Residents reported increased comfort performing a surgical airway (1.16 versus 1.95), P