Mixed-methods education of mechanical ventilation for residents in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic: Preliminary interventional study

INTRODUCTION: In the current era of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 epidemic, the need for respiratory care, including mechanical ventilatory (MV) management, has increased. However, there are no well-developed educational strategies for training medical personnel dealing with respiratory care in MV management. METHODS: A novel mixed-methods hands-on seminar for learning MV management was conducted for the residents at Chiba University Hospital in March 2022. The seminar lasted approximately 2 hours. The learning goal for the residents was to develop skills and knowledge in performing basic respiratory care, including MV, during an outbreak of a respiratory infection. The seminar with a flipped classroom consisted of e-learning, including modules on respiratory physiology and MV management, hands-on training with a low-fidelity simulator (a lung simulator), and hands-on training with a high-fidelity simulator (a human patient simulator). The effectiveness of the seminar was evaluated using closed questions (scored on a five-point Likert scale: 1 [minimum] to 5 [maximum]) and multiple-choice questions (maximum score: 6) at the pre- and post-seminar evaluations. RESULTS: Fourteen residents at Chiba University Hospital participated in the program. The questionnaire responses revealed that the participants’ motivation for learning about MV was relatively high in the pre-seminar period (seven participants [50%] selected level 5 [very strong]), and it increased in the post-seminar period (all participants selected level 5) (p = 0.016). The responses to the multiple-choice questions revealed that the participants did not have enough knowledge to operate a mechanical ventilator, while the total score significantly improved from the pre- to post-seminar period (pre-seminar: 3.3 ± 1.1, post-seminar: 4.6 ± 1.0, p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The seminar implemented in this study helped increase the residents’ motivation to learn about respiratory care and improved knowledge of MV management in a short time. In particular, the flipped classroom may promote the efficiency of education on MV management.