Introduction: In-flight medical emergencies occur in an estimated one out of 604 flights. Responding in this environment poses a unique set of challenges unfamiliar to most emergency medicine (EM) providers, including physical space and resource limitations. We developed a novel high-fidelity in-situ training curriculum focused on frequent or high-risk in-flight medical scenarios while replicating this austere environment.Methods: Our residency program coordinated with our local airport's chief of security and an airline-specific station manager to arrange the use of a grounded Boeing 737 commercial airliner during late evening/early morning hours. Eight stations reviewing in-flight medical emergency topics were reviewed, five of which were simulation scenarios. We created medical and first-aid kits that reflect equipment used by commercial airlines. Residents' self-assessed competency and medical knowledge were assessed both initially and postcurriculum using a standardized questionnaire.Results: Forty residents attended the educational event as learners. Self-assessed competency and medical knowledge increased after curriculum participation. All tested aspects of self-assessed competency had a statistically significant increase from a mean of 15.04 to 29.20 out of a maximum score of forty. The mean medical knowledge score increased from 4.65 to 6.93 out of 10 maximum points.
Conclusion:A five-hour in-situ curriculum for reviewing in-flight medical emergencies increased selfassessed competency and medical knowledge for EM and EM-internal medicine residents. The curriculum was overwhelmingly well-received by learners.
Immersive technology such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality has been used in entertainment. Applying this technology for educational purposes is a natural extension. We tested the ability of immersive technology to enhance medical education within a scenario about progressively worsening tension pneumothorax using a virtual patient. The goals of the study were 1) to determine whether those in the experimental group were better able to differentiate between normal and abnormal perceptual cues, and 2) to obtain feedback about the Augmented Reality (AR) training experience. For this study, the control group received traditional textbook training about tension pneumothorax. The experimental group received the same textbook training plus the AR tension pneumothorax scenario. An augmented reality headset was used to display a virtual patient on a table for the experimental group participants. All participants completed a pre and post-training knowledge test. Changes in the score of the accuracy from pre-post tests were used to establish whether the experimental group was better able to classify the perceptual cues. All participants responded to questions about the training experience at the end of the session. We discuss whether adding augmented reality training allowed medical students to better discern between abnormal and normal cues, and report our insights for what learning objectives AR can support in simulation-based training.
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