SE01 – Simulation Program – Responding to and Managing Emergencies in a Psychiatric Setting: Acute Medical Deterioration and Suicide Risk Assessment

SE01 – Simulation Program – Responding to and Managing Emergencies in a Psychiatric Setting: Acute Medical Deterioration and Suicide Risk Assessment

This simulation program has been developed and is geared to the needs of psychiatrists and residents in psychiatry.

Wednesday, Oct. 26
09:00 – 13:00 (4 hrs)
Meeting Room: CAMH, 1025 Queen Street W, Basement
Petal Abdool, MD, FRCP; Stephanie Sliekers, MEd; Fabienne Hargreaves, MA; Tucker Gordon; Rachel Antinucci, MHE; Erin Lee, MDes; Ellen Hayes, MDM; Teresa Vanderpost; Michael Mak, MD, FRCPC, FCPA; Tanu Sharma, BHSc, MD, CCFP; Alia Dharamsi, MD, FRCPC

CanMEDS Roles:

  1. Communicator
  2. Health Advocate
  3. Collaborator

At the end of this session, participants will be able to: 1) Apply a systematic approach to the wide differential for a patient with an unwitnessed collapse; 2) Recognize clinical signs of an acutely deteriorating patient and implement immediate life support strategies to provide medical managements to stabilize the patient; 3) Demonstrate effective communication during medical emergency, (closed-loop communication, and SBAR handover to emergency medical services upon their arrival); 4) Demonstrate the process of building a therapeutic alliance with the patient; 5) Identify risk and protective factors by conducting a suicide risk assessment; 6) Organize the factors collected into the 4Ps; 7) Appraise which collected factors are modifiable in the patient’s life.

Simulation-based education is an experiential, hands-on type of learning that immerses attendees in real-life scenarios in a safe, realistic environment (Issenberg et al., 2005). Simulation-based education has become prominent across all health disciplines because it provides a safe and effective way for attendees to develop clinical skills in communication, teamwork, situational awareness, and leadership (Thomson et al., 2013). While simulation is well-established in other medical specialties like surgery and anesthesiology, its use in psychiatry and mental health has been primarily focused on the use of simulated patients (Thomson et al., 2013).

In this pre-conference workshop, attendees participate in two simulations to support skill development in acute care psychiatry, when complex decision-making skills are needed to respond to a patient crisis. We have designed two simulations for psychiatrists (one manikin-based simulation, and one virtual reality) based on needs we have identified at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto. During this half-day workshop, attendees will participate in two scenarios to develop their skills in 1) medical emergency response and 2) suicide risk assessment. These scenarios provide attendees with a chance to engage in different modalities, practice decision-making skills in a safe learning environment, and get individualized feedback. The goal of the simulation is to increase confidence in responding safely to emergencies that can arise when delivering mental health care.

This event is an Accredited Section 3 Simulation Based Activity as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. This simulation program has been developed and is geared to the needs of psychiatrists and residents in psychiatry.

References:

  1. Alex B. Thomson, Sean Cross, Suzie Key, Peter Jaye & Amy C. Iversen (2013). How we developed an emergency psychiatry training course for new residents using principles of high-fidelity simulation, Medical Teacher, 35:10, 797-800, DOI: 10.3109/0142159X.2013.8035225.
  2. Barry Issenberg S, McGaghie WC, Petrusa ER, Lee Gordon D, Scalese RJ. Features and uses of high-fidelity medical simulations that lead to effective learning: a BEME systematic review. Medical teacher. 2005;27(1):10-28. doi:10.1080/01421590500046924.