PG120 Using COVID as a platform to develop an innovative ENT simulation program

Introduction At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in March 2020, the GMC set out to provide early provisional registration for final year medical students to help deliver care at a time of extreme pressure within the NHS.1 The ENT department in our tertiary referral centre was allocated five interim foundation doctors to help support the clinical team during the pandemic. Studies have consistently demonstrated that ENT is poorly represented on the undergraduate medical curriculum, with the majority final year medical students and junior doctors feeling unprepared for clinical practice.2 3 An ENT emergency simulation programme was therefore devised to help improve the clinical skills, knowledge and confidence of the new interim foundation doctors, with the course being subsequently incorporated into departmental induction for the new first-on-call ENT doctors, following the success of the pilot session. Methods Five interim foundation doctors attended a pilot half-day simulation study day, comprised of a ‘skills and drills’ workshop focusing on specialist ENT equipment and procedural skills, followed by two interactive scenarios (tracheostomy emergencies and epistaxis). A combination of an interactive SimMan3G mannequin and a technician utilizing a Mask-Ed™, along with nursing staff from the ENT ward, was used to deliver high-fidelity simulation within a multidisciplinary team. Participants were asked to rate how prepared they would feel in managing the relevant condition on their next shift before and after the course on a Likert scale (1 – strongly disagree, 3 – neutral, 5 – strongly agree). The session was repeated for the new nine first-on-call ENT doctors, with scenarios based on stridor and epistaxis. Results Participants in the pilot session felt more prepared in managing both tracheostomy emergencies (1.2 vs 4.2) and epistaxis (2.0 vs 4.8). Participants in the subsequent session also felt more prepared in managing stridor (2.1 vs 4.6) and epistaxis (3.1 vs 4.7) (figure 1). All 14 attendants stated that they would recommend the session to others. Conclusion Preparing healthcare professionals adequately is essential to enhancing patient safety. Despite the simulation course being originally established to help support newly qualified interim foundation doctors starting in ENT, the success of the programme has resulted in its formal incorporation into ENT induction within our department. References Early provisional registration for final year medical students - GMC. https://www.gmc-uk.org/news/news-archive/early-provisional-registration-for-final-year-medical-students. Accessed August 27, 2020. Ferguson GR, Bacila IA, Swamy M. Does current provision of undergraduate education prepare UK medical students in ENT? A systematic literature review. BMJ Open 2016;6(4):e010054. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010054 Mace AD, Narula AA. Survey of current undergraduate otolaryngology training in the United Kingdom. J Laryngol Otol 2004;118(3):217–220. doi:10.1258/002221504322928008