Abstract
Background: In 2016, our institution developed an outreach education program (OEP) that provides pediatric medical education to hospitals in the region (Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland). The OEP goal was to increase pediatric critical thinking skills in a fully interdisciplinary, non-judgmental, hands-on fashion by providing pediatric education, pediatric mock codes, and debriefings. After noticing a growing need to include a respiratory-focused critical care scenario, respiratory therapists (RTs) were asked to join the OEP to perform respiratory education and pediatric mock codes. RTs began providing education as part of the OEP in 2017. We aimed to evaluate the impact of RT involvement on the program by reviewing number of RTs in attendance at OEP external pediatric mock codes and overall satisfaction of offerings.
Methods: RTs began accompanying intensive care physicians to outside facilities for outreach education in 2017. In addition, RTs were involved in scenario planning, education, and debriefing in relation to all OEP activities. The OEP coordinator marketed RT involvement to partner facilities in 2017. The OEP began tracking attendance by discipline in 2018. In 2021, an IRB approved, retrospective review of surveys and data collected from the Nemours OEP was completed.
Results: RTs provided mock code simulations with the OEP in 8 different facilities, with over 14 offerings from 2018-2020. Post OEP event survey responses (n = 2,916) indicated that all participants (RNs, RTs, MDs), felt the activity was appropriately challenging, was fit for their level of training, that they would participate in the program again and they plan to incorporate learnings into practice. RT attendance increased 900% from 2018-2019. All offsite, in person, OEP activities were halted as of March 31, 2020 secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusions: RT involvement in the OEP significantly increased RT attendance at educational offerings from 2018 to 2019. There was no statistically significance difference in OEP satisfaction. COVID-19 impacted the number of OEP offerings available in 2020. Virtual education was provided for lectures, but we were unable to successfully complete full pediatric mock-codes in a virtual atmosphere. Further research must be completed to fully understand RT impact in outreach education.
Figure 1 shows the attendance and survey response rates from participants, by dsicipline from 2016-2020.
Footnotes
Commercial Relationships: Katlyn Burr- Hill-Rom, Patient Trainer
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