Targeted Simulation-based Leadership Training for Trauma Team Leaders

INTRODUCTION: Effective team leadership is linked to better teamwork, which in turn is believed to improve patient care. Simulation-based training provides a mechanism to develop effective leadership behaviors. Traditionally, healthcare curricula have included leadership as a small component of broader teamwork training, with very few examples of leadership-focused curricula. The objective of this work is to describe a novel simulation-based team leadership curriculum that easily adapts to individual learners. METHODS: We created a simulation-based team leadership training for trauma team leaders in graduate medical education. Participants included second- and third-year emergency medicine and surgery residents. Training consisted of a single, four-hour session and included facilitated discussion of trauma leadership skills, a brief didactic session integrating leadership behaviors into Advanced Trauma Life Support®, and a series of simulations and debriefing sessions. The simulations contained adaptable components that facilitated individualized learning while delivering set curricular content. A survey evaluation was administered 7–24 months following the training to assess self-reported implementation of trained material. RESULTS: A total of 36 residents participated in the training and 23 (64%) responded to the survey. The majority of respondents (n = 22, 96%) felt the training was a valuable component of their residency education and all respondents reported ongoing use of at least one behavior learned during the training. The most commonly cited skills for ongoing use included the pre-arrival brief (n = 21, 91%) and prioritization (n = 21, 91%). CONCLUSION: We delivered a leadership-focused, simulation-based training that 1) adapted to learners’ individual needs, and 2) was perceived to impact practice up to 24 months post-training. More work is needed to understand the impact of this training on learner knowledge and behavior, as well as patient outcomes.