Does Instruction on Cognitive Aid Use Improve Performance and Retention of Skills?

Does Instruction on Cognitive Aid Use Improve Performance and Retention of Skills? A Simulation Based Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether formal instruction on the use of cognitive aids in managing a crisis will result in better longterm retention of knowledge and skills. In particular, this study examines the impact of cognitive aid teaching on the Advanced Cardiac Life Support course.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Long-term Retention of Advanced Cardiac Life Support Skills
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Standard Simulation Based ACLS Refresher Teaching; Other: Cognitive Aid based ACLS Refresher training

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 55
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Y 4E9
      • The Ottawa Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Post-graduate Medical trainee in departments of Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine
• Has taken ACLS Course at least once

Exclusion Criteria:

• Never taken ACLS Course

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Control Group; This group gets a simulation based ACLS refresher as treatment, but no access to cognitive aids for any of the tests.	Other: Standard Simulation Based ACLS Refresher Teaching; 45min-1 hour time. 15 minutes didactic review of 2010 ACLS guidelines followed by practice simulated megacodes
Active Comparator: 2nd Control Group; This group receives a standard Simulation based ACLS refresher as the intervention, like the control group. No mention is made of Cognitive Aids in the teaching, but they are available during the post-test and retention post-test.	Other: Standard Simulation Based ACLS Refresher Teaching; 45min-1 hour time. 15 minutes didactic review of 2010 ACLS guidelines followed by practice simulated megacodes
Experimental: Cognitive Aid Group; This group receives Cognitive Aid based teaching as the intervention. They also have access to cognitive aids for post-test and retention post-test	Other: Cognitive Aid based ACLS Refresher training; 45min-1 hour time. 15 minutes didactic review of 2010 ACLS guidelines followed by simulated ACLS megacode practice focused on the use of Cognitive Aids to guide management.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
ACLS Megacode Examination Scale Score	Simulated scenarios will be videotaped. These will be scored according to the ACLS megacode testing checklist by trained video raters	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Anesthesia Non-Technical Skills Scale (ANTS)	Simulated Scenarios will be videotaped. Videos will be scored by trained raters according to the validated Anesthesia Nontechnical Skills Scale.	6 Months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
• Collaborators: The Ottawa Hospital Academic Medical Association; The Academy for Innovation in Medical Education

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: July 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 31, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): January 31, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 16, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 19, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): July 20, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 28, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 26, 2017
• Last Verified: April 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Medical Education; Advanced Cardiac Life Support; Crisis Resource Management; Cognitive Aid; Skills Retention
• Other Study ID Numbers: OHRI-20120006

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No