End-of-Life Care Education in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Programs: Exploring Fellow and Program Director Perspectives.

The aim of this study is to describe the current state of end-of-life (EOL) care education within pediatric critical care medicine (PCCM) fellowship programs and explore potential differences in beliefs on EOL care education between program directors (PDs) and fellows. A mixed-methods study based on data obtained through a nationally distributed, web-based cross-sectional survey of PCCM fellowship PDs and PCCM fellows was performed. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited PCCM fellowships in the United States.

Improving Patient- and Family-Centered Communication in Pediatrics: A Review of Simulation-Based Learning.

Patient- and family-centered care focuses on relationships among patients, families, and health care providers that are mutually beneficial and improve health care outcomes and provider satisfaction. Building relationships is a key component of the provision of excellent health care and can be taught and enhanced through simulation-based communication skills training. This article reviews the available literature on simulation-based learning as used to improve patient- and family- centered communication in the discipline of pediatrics.

Mixed-Reality Simulation for a Pediatric Transport Team: A Pilot Study.

Objective: Transport medicine requires a complex set of skills including fast-paced medical decision making, in-depth medical knowledge, procedural competence, interpersonal and communication skills, leadership, and professionalism. There has been a call for more training in these areas. Simulation-based training can be a way to acquire these necessary skills and bridge the gap to higher-quality transport care.

Disputes in the Declaration of Brain Death: A Case Illustration.

Death by neurologic criteria is a legal definition upheld in all 50 states in the United States. Confusion among the public may cause the declaration of death to be disputed and the removal of physiologic support delayed. In this report, a case is described of an infant who died from traumatic brain injury, but whose removal from respiratory and cardiovascular support was delayed due to a legal injunction brought forth from his family against the hospital.

Development of a Comprehensive Communication Skills Curriculum for Pediatrics Residents.

Background: Effective communication is an essential element of medical care and a priority of medical education. Specific interventions to teach communication skills are at the discretion of individual residency programs.

Objective: We developed the Resident Communication Skills Curriculum (RCSC), a formal curriculum designed to teach trainees the communication skills essential for high-quality practice.

The reliability of a modified Kalamazoo Consensus Statement Checklist for assessing the communication skills of multidisciplinary clinicians in the simulated environment.

Objective: With increased recognition of the importance of sound communication skills and communication skills education, reliable assessment tools are essential. This study reports on the psychometric properties of an assessment tool based on the Kalamazoo Consensus Statement Essential Elements Communication Checklist.

Methods: The Gap-Kalamazoo Communication Skills Assessment Form (GKCSAF), a modified version of an existing communication skills assessment tool, the Kalamazoo Essential Elements Communication Checklist-Adapted, was used to assess learners in a multidisciplinary, simulation-based communication skills educational program using multiple raters.

A simulation-based curriculum to address relational crises in medicine.

Introduction: Preparing health care professionals for challenging communication tasks such as delivering bad news to patients and families is an area where a need for improved teaching has been identified.

Objectives: We developed a simulation-based curriculum to enhance the skills of health care professionals, with an emphasis on the communication of difficult or bad news, which we termed relational crises.

Methods: Our approach was based on a review of existing simulation-based curricula, with the addition of unique features, including a learner-focused needs assessment to shape curriculum development, use of 360-degree evaluations, and provision of written feedback.

Integrated in-situ simulation using redirected faculty educational time to minimize costs: a feasibility study.

Introduction: Simulation is an effective teaching tool, but many hospitals do not possess the space or finances to support traditional simulation centers. Our objective is to describe the feasibility of an in situ simulation program model that uses minimal permanent space and "redirected" cost-neutral faculty educational time to address these issues.

Methods: Two pediatric simulators and audiovisual equipment were purchased.

Multi-rater feedback with gap analysis: an innovative means to assess communication skill and self-insight.

Objective: Multi-rater assessment with gap analysis is a powerful method for assessing communication skills and self-insight, and enhancing self-reflection. We demonstrate the use of this methodology.

Methods: The Program for the Approach to Complex Encounters (PACE) is an interdisciplinary simulation-based communication skills program.