Mannequin Program Linked with Practice Improvements

Most anesthesiologists who participated in a mannequin-based simulation program successfully implemented practice improvements, according to a study published in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology.

Randolph H. Steadman, MD, MS, professor and vice chair, Department of Anesthesiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and colleagues  studied simulation course data from 634 participants between January 2010 and December 2012. 

Course participants listed at least three practice improvement plans they would implement after the course, such as enhancing communication among care team members, improving care transitions of medically complex cases and adopting useful cognitive aids such as checklists. 

After the course was completed, participants were contacted on a monthly basis to report the completion level of their improvement plans. 

The esearchers found that 94% of participants described successfully implementing at least one improvement plan within three months after the course, and 79% reported implementing three or more practice improvements within the same period.