Simulation-Based Training for Residents in the Management of Acute Agitation: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.
OBJECTIVE
Simulations are used extensively in medicine to train clinicians to manage high-risk situations. However, to our knowledge, no studies have determined whether this is an effective means of teaching residents to manage acutely agitated patients. This study aimed to determine whether simulation-based training in the management of acute agitation improves resident knowledge and performance, as compared to didactic-based instruction.


METHODS
Following a standard lecture on the management of agitated patients, first-year psychiatry residents were randomized (in clusters of three to four residents) to either the intervention (n = 15) or control arm (n = 11). Residents in the intervention arm then received simulation-based training on the management of acute agitation using a scenario with an agitated standardized patient. Those in the control arm received simulation-based training on a clinical topic unrelated to the management of agitation using a scenario with a non-agitated standardized patient who had suffered a fall. Baseline confidence and knowledge were assessed using pre-intervention self-assessment questionnaires and open-ended clinical case vignettes. Efficacy of the intervention as a teaching tool was assessed with post-intervention open-ended clinical case vignettes and videotaped simulation-based assessment, using a different scenario of an agitated standardized patient.


RESULTS
Residents who received the agitation simulation-based training showed significantly greater improvement in knowledge (intervention = 3.0 vs. control = 0.3, p = 0.007, Cohen's d = 1.2) and performance (intervention = 39.6 vs control = 32.5, p = 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.6). Change in self-perceived confidence did not differ significantly between groups.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, simulation-based training appeared to be more effective at teaching knowledge and skills necessary for the management of acutely agitated patients, as compared to didactic-based instruction alone. Subjective evaluations of confidence in these skills did not improve significantly compared to controls, corroborating the need for using objective outcome measures when assessing simulation-based training.
['Vestal|Heather S|HS|', 'Sowden|Gillian|G|', 'Nejad|Shamim|S|', 'Stoklosa|Joseph|J|', 'Valcourt|Stephanie C|SC|', 'Keary|Christopher|C|', 'Caminis|Argyro|A|', 'Huffman|Jeff|J|']
D002983:Clinical Competence D003479:Curriculum D006801:Humans D007396:Internship and Residency D016544:Patient Simulation D011570:Psychiatry D011595:Psychomotor Agitation D012647:Self-Assessment D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D013663:Teaching
Residents Agitation Simulation Psychiatry Teaching methods