Blog post co-authored by: Dr. Lauren Falvo
Pictured from left to right: Dr. Rami Ahmed, Simulation Fellowship Director; Dr. Anna Bona, Simulation Fellow; Dr. Lauren Falvo, Simulation Fellow; Dr. Dylan Cooper, Director, Simulation Center at Fairbanks Hall
Halloween celebrations were in full-swing last month at the Simulation Center at Fairbanks Hall as they hosted an Emergency Medicine resident teaching simulation. Our educators joined in the fun and dressed up for the occasion, which you can check out in the picture above.
Medical simulation is a staple in the emergency medicine residents’ curriculum. Through simulation, residents are exposed to a variety of scenarios that allows them to think through their clinical approach prior to caring for patients. Some scenarios may involve rare cases that residents may be expected to know how to treat, but may not see in their clinical training (such as peri-mortem c-sections or emergent cricothyrotomies). Other simulations are catered toward preparing residents for cases they are more likely to see in the next few months. This October, first-year residents treated a pediatric drowning case, complicated by hypothermia, as practice for this winter. Second-year residents had the opportunity to hone their communication skills through a simulation involving elder abuse; an unfortunate, but realistic scenario where a high index-of-suspicion and quick-thinking by the emergency medicine team can make a true difference in a patient’s life. Communication-based cases involve the use of standardized patients, paid actors who increase the realism of the scenario and solidify learning objectives.
Helping out with the scenarios were two of the three current simulation medicine fellows- Drs. Anna Bona and Lauren Falvo. Simulation Medicine is a new fellowship offered by Indiana University, and the team is currently accepting applications for the 2020-2021 academic year. Residency-graduated physicians from any specialty are welcome candidates. If you have an interest in learning how to use simulation medicine to improve medical education, patient safety, and quality improvement, please email our fellowship coordinator, Kris Powell, at krmpowel@iu.edu.
Want to learn more about our Emergency Medicine Medical Simulation Fellowship program at Indiana University School of Medicine? Click here for more information.
