A Fresh Frozen Cadaver Procedure Laboratory

Abstract Introduction Certifying boards, such as the American Board of Emergency Medicine, mandate that its candidates be taught, and demonstrate competence in, the performance of certain diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. There is no mandate on how to accomplish this and much controversy over the best method. In response, we created a lab using fresh frozen cadavers to teach procedural skills. Methods During this 4-day (2 days in June, 2 days in July) lab, first-, second-, and third-year emergency medicine residents practice supervised procedures suitable to their level of training. Trainees are invited to the session with level-specific objectives and provided a checklist with the procedure steps and expected completion time, upon which they are evaluated. This publication includes a description of the lab set-up and list of supplies needed to facilitate this session. Each procedure includes a role-play of the resident obtaining informed consent and has the resident list indications and contraindications. The bulk of the time is spent on one-on-one supervision of the resident performing the procedure with atlases and procedure texts at each cadaver for real-time reference. Results Formally solicited feedback from 100% of participants, both residents and faculty, has been unanimously positive and has helped us create the final refined process. Discussion Scheduling instruction and evaluation during controlled workshops with a set curriculum and objective evaluation criteria on realistic, unembalmed cadavers allows for predictability, consistency, reproducibility, and thoroughness, providing a framework on which to document competence. The curriculum maximizes the use of resources, including the cadavers themselves, supplies, lab space, and learner and faculty time, and can be adapted to any number of learners in any discipline