Effectiveness of Simulation Training in Acquiring Echocardiography Skills among Neonatology Care Providers

Shahab Noori; Mahmood Ebrahimi; Merujan Uzunyan; Dariush Bazyani; Aryan J Noori; Bijan Siassi; Rangasamy Ramanathan

doi:10.1055/a-1845-2083

Effectiveness of Simulation Training in Acquiring Echocardiography Skills among Neonatology Care Providers

Am J Perinatol. 2022 Jun 6. doi: 10.1055/a-1845-2083. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shahab Noori¹, Mahmood Ebrahimi², Merujan Uzunyan³, Dariush Bazyani¹, Aryan J Noori¹, Bijan Siassi², Rangasamy Ramanathan²

Affiliations

¹ Fetal and Neonatal Institute, Division of Neonatology, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
² Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.
³ Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.

PMID: 35523411
DOI: 10.1055/a-1845-2083

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that simulation training improves echocardiography skills.

Study design: In this prospective study, 43 participants (16 neonatologists, 26 neonatology fellows, and 1 nurse practitioner) were tested on the simulator after 4 hours of didactic sessions on topographical cardiac anatomy and standard echocardiographic views. Participants were given 20 minutes to obtain and save the standard views. After the simulation hands-on training for 8 hours over 3 days, they were tested again. Each image was scored from 0 to 3 based on the image quality. Pre- and postsimulator training data were compared using both automated and visual scoring methods.

Results: After the hands-on simulator training, the automated median (interquartile) score for the quality of acquired images increased from 36 (22, 43) to 55 (48, 58), p < 0.0001. The increase was similar using visual scoring. The number of views with acceptable or good image quality (scores of 2 or 3) increased from 11 (6, 16) to 20 (17, 21), p < 0.0001. The neonatology fellows and faculty, as well as those with or without prior echocardiography experience, demonstrated significant improvement.

Conclusions: Echocardiography simulation is an effective tool in improving echocardiography skills among neonatology care providers.

Key points: · Simulation is effective in acquiring echocardiography skills among neonatology care providers.. · Simulation improves image acquisition in those with and without prior echocardiography experience.. · Effectiveness of simulation in retaining the acquired echocardiography skill should be investigated..