Family Medicine Residency Program Simulation Survey

Abstract

Introduction: Simulation-based education is a rapidly growing field within medical training and has been shown to be superior to traditional didactic and clinical training in achieving and retaining medical skills. It allows learners the opportunity to develop their clinical decision-making skills in a realistic environment while focusing on learning rather than the busy demands of a service. This study explores simulation-based medical education utilization within Canadian family medicine residency training programs and determines perceived barriers to implementation of simulation.

Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys were developed, for site leads and residents, using a previously developed and validated survey created by Dr. Andrew Koch at Queen’s University to assess simulation-based education in emergency medicine training programs. The survey questions were adapted to be applicable to family medicine with the permission of the author. Ethics was approved by Newfoundland and Labrador Health Research Ethics Board. The surveys were anonymous and distributed using Qualtrics. 

Results: The survey results found 62% of urban training sites have formal simulation curriculums compared to 36% of rural training sites. Barriers included limited access to equipment and limited protected faculty time. Although many felt the addition of allied health professionals is beneficial in simulation, only eight sites participate in multidisciplinary simulation. While all sites agreed simulation is very valuable to residents training, many programs only have a few sessions a year. 

Conclusion: Our aim is to encourage programs to incorporate simulation into their training program and adapt their curriculum to meet the learning needs of family medicine residents.