Development of a Management of Medical Emergencies Course for Undergraduate Dental Students

Oral Presentation 2
Ms Vicky Adams, Dr Stephen Adair

Development of a Management of Medical Emergencies Course for Undergraduate Dental Students

Medical emergencies in dental practice, such as anaphylaxis or hypoglycaemia, are uncommon but when they do arise they need to be managed quickly and effectively in order to avoid untoward consequences for the patient. High fidelity simulation would seem the ideal way to provide a safe environment for students to acquire the skills necessary to manage these events.

Management of medical emergencies has traditionally been taught in year 3 and 4 of the dental course. It comprised lectures and case base discussion sessions. In 2014 we introduced a simulation course, based in Elliot Dynes on the Royal Victoria Site. The focus at this initial phase was on recruitment of staff, development of course content, ensuring standardisation of teaching and provision of useful debrief and feedback. Course content was based on guidance from Resuscitation UK, the General Dental Council and British National Formulary.

Feedback was sought from teaching faculty and students and steps were taken to address any issues raised. We introduced further hands on teaching on the use of the drugs and equipment into 3rd year as students did not have sufficient experience of their use to be confident with them during the simulation. Multiple studies have shown video to be an effective educational tool (1) and there is also some evidence it can aid performance in clinical simulation (2). Videos of ideal management of the more common scenarios were therefore produced in an attempt to enhance performance during simulation and to aid retention.

The move to the KN Cheung SK Chin InterSim centre will allow us to develop the course further. Fidelity was somewhat of an issue in our previous venue which was more appropriate to a ward or theatre setting. This will be greatly improved at InterSim. We have also been able to extend the course so that medical emergency simulation takes place in all of the clinical years (3-5). There is extensive evidence that this type of "spaced learning" approach enhances retention (3) We will also be able to use a scaffolded learning approach with the 3rd year students being given more support to manage simple scenarios. The degree of support can be reduced and complexity increased in subsequent years allowing the progress to "safe beginner" level required by the General Dental Council.

The move to InterSim is an exciting development which we believe will benefit our students greatly.