IntroductionUnacceptable practices of health care providers during disasters have been observed because they work outside the scope of their daily practices and have inadequate training. A greater need for the involvement of health professionals in disaster management has been noted in Saudi Arabia. This study evaluates the efficacy of a training course in prehospital major incident management for health care providers in Saudi Arabia.MethodsAn interactive course for general principles in prehospital major incident management was developed with domains and core competencies. The course was designed according to the local context and was based on international standards. It was piloted over four days at the Officers Club of the Ministry of Interior (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) and was sponsored by Mohammed Bin Naif Medical Center, King Fahd Security College in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The participants (n=29) were from different disciplines from main government health facilities in Riyadh. They completed a pre-test and a post-test.ResultsThe overall score was 55.1% on the pre-test and 68.4% on the post-test (Wilcoxon test for paired samples, P <.05). Three out of the four domains had significant difference between pre- and post-test results, as well as the overall total knowledge.Conclusion:Conducting inter-disciplinary and competency-based disaster medicine courses for health care providers can augment appropriate disaster preparedness for major incidents in Saudi Arabia.BajowNA,AlAssafWI,CluntunAA.Course in prehospital major incidents management for health care providers in Saudi Arabia.Prehosp Disaster Med.2018;33(6):587–595.

Simulation-based education (SBE) is a fundamental teaching method that complements traditional teaching modalities. SBE has improved students’ knowledge, understanding, and numerous essential skills within undergraduate pharmacy education, similar to traditional teaching methods. However, SBE has become crucial for developing students’ teamwork, decision-making, and communication skills. Even though the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) has acknowledged the benefit of SBE in interprofessional education (IPE) and the introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE). This article provides evidence that SBE can be effective beyond that. This narrative review is focused on the literature related to SBE modalities and the assessment methods of student learning outcomes in the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum. The review illustrates that SBE is an effective teaching method that could be utilized within the pharmacy curriculum. The review also could help pharmacy educators decide on the best modality and placement of integrating patient simulation within the pharmacy curriculum. Combining multiple simulation techniques may be the best way to achieve the desired student learning outcomes.

BackgroundHealthcare medical dispatch systems play a fundamental role in the daily operations of prehospital services. This includes facilitating the interpretation of various dispatch-related systems, receiving incident calls, categorizing cases, guiding proper resources deployment, and providing proper instructions before the arrival of healthcare providers. Considering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA’s) health sector transformation plan as part of Vision 2030, developing an Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) Program as part of essential prehospital services will allow rapid and competent healthcare delivery. In this study, our purpose is to describe the curriculum development of the EMD Program to improve the training of dispatchers and to share the experience in the interest of better prehospital dispatch systems.MethodsA selected group of education experts and academics in emergency medical services dispatch were assigned to develop an EMD curriculum over six months. This study aims to describe the approach followed in developing an innovative EMD Program to share the experience and ultimately standardize dispatch-related training programs. The data of this study was collected by reviewing approved documents of the EMD Program including program curriculum, syllabus, logbook, and exam blueprint after approval letters received from the Health Academy, Saudi Commission for Health Specialties.ResultsThe development of the EMD program utilized a consecutive mixed approach staring with a competency-based with backward design method to ensure the achievement of targeted outcomes followed by the Kern Six-step curriculum development model, namely: (1) problem identification and general need assessment; (2) targeted need assessment; (3) goals and objectives; (4) educational strategies; (5) implementation; and (6) evaluation and feedback. This resulted in four comprehensive modules and seventeen competencies throughout the fourteen-week EMD Program. Conclusion As part of the health sector transformation plan in KSA, EMD services play a fundamental role in the daily operations of prehospital healthcare services. Developing an EMD Program with a consecutive mixed approach including a competency-based with backward design method followed by the Kern Six-step curriculum development model led to a set of learning outcomes in the EMD Program including interpreting various dispatch systems, prioritizing incidents, deploying proper resources, and providing pre-arrival instructions to improve the current operations of EMD services, allow rapid access to healthcare facilities, and ultimately save more lives.

Background: Healthcare providers performing aerosol-generating procedures like airway management are at the highest risk for contamination with coronavirus disease 2019 . We developed an in-situ simulation (ISS) airway management training in confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients for emergency and anesthesiology staff, evaluated participants' reactions, and identified perceived challenges. Methods:We used a cross-sectional study design incorporating a quantitative questionnaire to describe participants' reaction to the ISS and a qualitative group interview using the plus-delta debriefing modality to explore participants' challenges in acquiring the knowledge and skills required for each learning objective. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and deductive content analysis.Results: Two hundred and ninety-nine healthcare providers participated in 62 ISS training sessions. Over 90% of our study participants agreed or strongly agreed that: they understood the learning objectives; the training material appropriately challenged them; the course content was relevant, easy to navigate, and essential; the facilitators' knowledge, teaching, and style were appropriate; the simulation facilities were suitable; and they had ample opportunities to practice the learned skills. The main challenges identified were anticipating difficult airways, preparing intubation equipment, minimizing the number of personnel inside the room, adhering to the proper doffing sequence, preparing needed equipment outside the intubation room, speaking up, and ensuring closed-loop communication. Conclusion:The newly developed ISS training was feasible for busy healthcare practitioners to safely perform airway management procedures for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients without affecting bedside care. Anticipation of difficult airways and speaking up were the most frequent challenges identified across all specialties in this study.

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