The beneficial learning by simulation in the acquisition of non-technical skills among medical students

Dorra Loghmari, Sarra Soua, Mehdi Zorgati, Mohamed El Hedi Ahmed, Rabeb Mbarek, Sondes Laajimi, Haifa Bradai, Naoufel Chebili

Abstract

Introduction: Medical simulation is a new learning method recently introduced in medical education and has grown tremendously. "Never the first time on the patient", it is with this objective that medical simulation has become for several years an essential teaching method for health professionals and medical students. It is proven to improve both technical and non-technical skills (NTSs).
Methods: We carried out a pre-experimental study at the simulation center of the emergency medical service of the eastern center of Tunisia and the simulation center of the Faculty of Medicine of Sousse during the academic year 2020-2021. Our target population was students in the third year of the second cycle of medical studies.
We led four days of simulation-based training; it was included the community health program of the Faculty of Medicine of Sousse. NTSs were evaluated by the Anesthesia Non-Technical Skills (ANTS) score, at the start of the training (t0) (Workshop 2), at the end of the training (t1) (Workshop 6-7), and during the practical exam (t2).
Results: Our study population consisted of 67 medical students from the Faculty of Medicine of Sousse. Most students were females (67.7%). The mean age was 23.16 (±0.7).
The mean ANTS score before training at (t0) was 30.85+/- 10.8. At the end of the training, the mean ANTS score (t1) became 44.36+/- 8.8 (p <0.001). At the final assessment, the mean ATNS score at (t2) was 48.99+/-11.8. The difference in mean between the assessment at t0 and t1 and the final assessment (t2) was statistically significant with p <0.001. We compared the means of different items of the ANTS score, during the training to the end, and we found a significant improvement in work organization (10,03,10,94 and 15,79), teamwork (9,96,13,96 and 14,6) situational awareness (4,61, 8,91 and 9,25) and Decision-making (5.34, 7.66 and 9.34) with p < 0.001.
Conclusion: Simulation-based training for the medical and paramedical public contributes to patient safety and more effective care provided in critical situations. Our study confirmed the importance of this teaching method in acquiring and strengthening NTS.