Emotion, cognitive load and learning outcomes during simulation training.

Context: Simulation training has emerged as an effective way to complement clinical training of medical students. Yet outcomes from simulation training must be considered suboptimal when 25-30% of students fail to recognise a cardiac murmur on which they were trained 1 hour previously. There are several possible explanations for failure to improve following simulation training, which include the impact of heightened emotions on learning and cognitive overload caused by interactivity with high-fidelity simulators.

Learning during simulation training is prone to retroactive interference.

Context: Retroactive interference occurs when newly acquired information inhibits recall of previously learned information. This has been shown to influence recall of sounds, tastes and word associations, and is typically seen when learners receive training on one area of content and are then exposed to new content before being evaluated on the original content. Thus far, retroactive interference has received little attention in medical education and has not been studied during simulation training.

Does training learners on simulators benefit real patients?

Despite limited data on patient outcomes, simulation training has already been adopted and embraced by a large number of medical schools. Yet widespread acceptance of simulation should not relieve us of the duty to demonstrate if, and under which circumstances, training learners on simulation benefits real patients. Here we review the data on performance of healthcare providers or trainees following simulation training, and discuss ways of enhancing transfer of learning from simulated to real patients.

Who is teaching and supervising our junior residents' central venous catheterizations?

Background: The extent to which medical residents are involved in the teaching and supervision of medical procedures is unknown. This study aims to evaluate the teaching and supervision of junior residents in central venous catheterization (CVC) by resident-teachers.

Methods: All PGY-1 internal medicine residents at two Canadian academic institutions were invited to complete a survey on their CVC experience, teaching, and supervision prior to their enrolment in a simulator CVC training curriculum.