Conscious Sedation Simulation Course for Medical Providers and Its Effect on Decreasing Procedural Sedation-Related Complications in the ED

This study aims to improve training and decrease complications related to conscious sedation (light anesthesia to decrease pain during painful procedures). Conscious sedation is an integral part of an Emergency Medicine physician’s scope of practice, and residents are required to have performed a minimum of 15 conscious sedation procedures prior to graduation. At GW, resident training has typically included lectures/didactics, an occasional simulated case during the routine simulation training days, and hands on training/supervision in the ED. However, no dedicated conscious sedation curriculum exists, and the experience of residents in the program is variable. The investigators plan to develop a 4 hour integrated didactic and simulation curriculum for conscious sedation, and evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum on resident knowledge, self-efficacy, and assess for impact on clinical outcomes (if any). The educational component will be conducted during a regularly scheduled grand rounds as a part of the residency curriculum. Residents will be provided with session pre-reading, complete a demographic survey and knowledge pretest, participate in the simulation training session, and then take a written post-test. A conscious sedation skills station will be included in the annual resident mock oral boards session to assess post course skill retention. Participants will be asked to provide anonymous feedback regarding the efficacy of the training. In addition, the investigators seek to extract clinical (Emergency Dept) conscious sedation data by reviewing charts from six month timeframes before and after the course is taught, to determine if there is an impact on clinical performance. Although a measurable change in complication rates is unlikely, smaller variations (such as duration of monitoring, degree of oxygen desaturation) may provide insight into whether the course has changed clinical practice. This course will ideally become a fixed part of the residency education curriculum, and later could be applied to any medical provider from any specialty (CME course) with tailored cases related to their practice