83 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
C. Strother et al. (eds.), Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Emergency Medicine, Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57367-6_8
Patient Safety
Ernest E. Wang, Joanna Davidson, Clare Desmond,
Jared D. Novack, Sarah Donlan, and Morris S. Kharasch
Introduction
Nearly 16 years have passed since the Institute of Medicine’s
report: “To Err is Human,” called for a safer healthcare envi-
ronment. It specifcally cited communication and teamwork
as areas that required improvement and endorsed simulation
as a tool to work on these areas. In the past 5 years, a signif-
cant body of research has accumulated substantiating the
benefts of simulation-based deliberate practice and debrief-
ing. Specifcally, simulation has been shown to improve pro-
vider knowledge, skill acquisition and retention, and patient
safety in the clinical domain [1].
Beginning in 2012 with the initiation of the Next
Accreditation System (NAS), the Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) instituted
milestones-based resident assessment. The Emergency
Medicine Milestones project was a collaborative initiative
by the ACGME and the American Board of Emergency
Medicine (ABEM) [2]. The taskforce defned 23 discrete
milestones to provide a framework for the assessment of the
development of the resident physician in key dimensions of
physician competency. Of these, 20 are amenable to evalua-
tion using simulation (Table 8.1). Moreover, the “Patient
Safety” milestone specifcally evaluates residents on their
acquisition of skills used in performance improvement to
optimize patient safety.
To date, the majority of patient safety-focused simulation
research has been described in the anesthesia, critical care,
obstetric, and pediatric literature, but the principles have
application in emergency medicine. Here we review the cur-
rent literature and suggest optimal methods to apply simula-
tion in the ED to improve patient safety.
8
E. E. Wang (*) · J. Davidson · C. Desmond · J. D. Novack
S. Donlan · M. S. Kharasch
Division of Emergency Medicine, NorthShore University
HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, USA
e-mail: ewang@northshore.org
Table 8.1 ACGME milestones amenable to simulation-based
evaluation
Emergency Stabilization (PC1)
Performance of Focused History and Physical Exam (PC2)
Diagnostic Studies (PC3)
Diagnosis (PC4)
Pharmacotherapy (PC5)
Observation and Reassessment (PC6)
Disposition (PC7)
Multi-tasking (PC8)
General Approach to Procedures (PC9)
Airway Management (PC10)
Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management (PC11)
Other Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures: Vascular Access
(PC14)
Patient Safety (SBP1)
Systems-based Management (SBP2)
Technology (SBP3)
Practice-based Performance Improvement (PBLI)
Professional values (PROF1)
Accountability (PROF2)
Patient Centered Communication (ICS1)
Team Management (ICS2)
ACGME General Competencies: PC Patient Care, SBP Systems-based
Practice, PBLI Practice-based Learning and Improvement, PROF
Professionalism, ICS Interpersonal and Communication Skills