Ageing and Acute Care Physicians' Performance

NCT ID: NCT02683447

Last Updated: 2025-01-20

Study Results

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Total Enrollment

48 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2017-01-31

Study Completion Date

2020-01-31

Brief Summary

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The proportion of older acute care physicians (ACPs) has been increasing. Ageing is associated with physiological changes and research investigating how such age-related physiological changes affect clinical performance is lacking. Specifically, Crisis Resource Management (CRM) consists of essential clinical skills in acute care specialties which when absent, can significantly impact patient safety. As such, the goals of this study are to investigate whether ageing has a correlation with baseline CRM skills of ACPs and whether ageing influences learning from high fidelity simulation.

Detailed Description

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The proportion of older acute care physicians (ACP), emergency, critical care \& anesthesia, has been steadily increasing. Ageing is associated with physiological changes, which in turn can influence a physician's clinical abilities and decision-making. The litigation and physician disciplinary data suggests that incidents involving all physicians are likely to occur later in practice, with degree of injury identified in the claims being of greater severity. However research, investigating how age-related physiological changes affect clinical performance and patient safety, is lacking.

CRM skills are essential skills within acute care specialties, and are vital for patient safety. CRM encompasses technical skills, as well as a rapid and organized approach to non-technical, cognitive skills such as decision-making, task management, situational awareness and team management. High-fidelity full body mannequin simulation-based education is effective for learning CRM, including transfer of skills from the simulated setting to the clinical setting and improving patient outcome. However, there is a gap in the literature on whether physicians' age influences baseline CRM performance and also learning from simulation-based education.

Although the effectiveness of high-fidelity simulation-based education has been studied extensively in junior learner populations (students, residents, fellows), there are a limited number of studies investigating its effectiveness in teaching CRM in the ageing physician population. In fact, a recent systematic review looking at the role of simulation in continuing medical education (CME) in ACPs supported that there is limited evidence supporting improved learning. Despite not knowing whether simulation is the correct tool in an ageing population, it is being recommended as a training, regulation and assessment tool for practicing physicians.

Objectives:

The goals of this study are to:

1. Investigate whether ageing has a correlation with baseline CRM skills of ACPs using simulated crisis scenarios and
2. Assess whether ageing influences learning from high fidelity simulation.

Conditions

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Ageing

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

COHORT

Study Time Perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

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CRM Simulation

Each participant will manage a PEA arrest scenario (pre-test) and then be debriefed on their CRM skills by a trained facilitator for 20 minutes. They will then manage another crisis scenario (PEA arrest with a different inciting event) as an immediate post-test. Three months afterwards participants will return to manage a third PEA arrest scenario, which will serve as a retention post-test.

CRM Simulation

Intervention Type OTHER

Each participant will manage a PEA arrest scenario (pre-test) and then be debriefed on their CRM skills by a trained facilitator for 20 minutes. They will then manage another crisis scenario (PEA arrest with a different inciting event) as an immediate post-test. Three months afterwards participants will return to manage a third PEA arrest scenario, which will serve as a retention post-test.

Interventions

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CRM Simulation

Each participant will manage a PEA arrest scenario (pre-test) and then be debriefed on their CRM skills by a trained facilitator for 20 minutes. They will then manage another crisis scenario (PEA arrest with a different inciting event) as an immediate post-test. Three months afterwards participants will return to manage a third PEA arrest scenario, which will serve as a retention post-test.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Emergency physicians
* Critical care physicians
* Anesthesiologists
* minimum 5 years of practice post-residency

Exclusion Criteria

* Post-call day of participation
Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University of Toronto

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Ottawa

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Dr. Fahad Alam

Anesthesiologist

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Fahad Alam, MD, FRCPC

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Sylvain Boet, MD, MEd, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Ottawa

Locations

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University of Ottawa

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Site Status

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Site Status

Countries

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Canada

References

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Baxter AD, Boet S, Reid D, Skidmore G. The aging anesthesiologist: a narrative review and suggested strategies. Can J Anaesth. 2014 Sep;61(9):865-75. doi: 10.1007/s12630-014-0194-x. Epub 2014 Jul 2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Baird M, Daugherty L, Kumar KB, Arifkhanova A. Regional and Gender Differences and Trends in the Anesthesiologist Workforce. Anesthesiology. 2015 Nov;123(5):997-1012. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000000834.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26291778 (View on PubMed)

Siu LW, Boet S, Borges BC, Bruppacher HR, LeBlanc V, Naik VN, Riem N, Chandra DB, Joo HS. High-fidelity simulation demonstrates the influence of anesthesiologists' age and years from residency on emergency cricothyroidotomy skills. Anesth Analg. 2010 Oct;111(4):955-60. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0b013e3181ee7f4f. Epub 2010 Aug 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20736429 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Duke, E. (2006). The Critical Care Workforce: A Study of the Supply and Demand for Critical Care Physicians : Report to Congress (p. 36). U.S. Department of Health & Human Sciences.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Durning SJ, Artino AR, Holmboe E, Beckman TJ, van der Vleuten C, Schuwirth L. Aging and cognitive performance: challenges and implications for physicians practicing in the 21st century. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2010 Summer;30(3):153-60. doi: 10.1002/chp.20075.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12377689 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11245381 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 18004990 (View on PubMed)

Tessler MJ, Shrier I, Steele RJ. Association between anesthesiologist age and litigation. Anesthesiology. 2012 Mar;116(3):574-9. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e3182475ebf.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22354239 (View on PubMed)

Alam A, Khan J, Liu J, Klemensberg J, Griesman J, Bell CM. Characteristics and rates of disciplinary findings amongst anesthesiologists by professional colleges in Canada. Can J Anaesth. 2013 Oct;60(10):1013-9. doi: 10.1007/s12630-013-0006-8. Epub 2013 Jul 30.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23897490 (View on PubMed)

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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Boet S, Bould MD, Fung L, Qosa H, Perrier L, Tavares W, Reeves S, Tricco AC. Transfer of learning and patient outcome in simulated crisis resource management: a systematic review. Can J Anaesth. 2014 Jun;61(6):571-82. doi: 10.1007/s12630-014-0143-8. Epub 2014 Mar 25.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24664414 (View on PubMed)

Marinopoulos SS, Dorman T, Ratanawongsa N, Wilson LM, Ashar BH, Magaziner JL, Miller RG, Thomas PA, Prokopowicz GP, Qayyum R, Bass EB. Effectiveness of continuing medical education. Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep). 2007 Jan;(149):1-69.

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Khanduja PK, Bould MD, Naik VN, Hladkowicz E, Boet S. The role of simulation in continuing medical education for acute care physicians: a systematic review. Crit Care Med. 2015 Jan;43(1):186-93. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000000672.

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Steadman RH. Improving on reality: can simulation facilitate practice change? Anesthesiology. 2010 Apr;112(4):775-6. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e3181d3e337. No abstract available.

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Savoldelli GL, Naik VN, Hamstra SJ, Morgan PJ. Barriers to use of simulation-based education. Can J Anaesth. 2005 Nov;52(9):944-50. doi: 10.1007/BF03022056.

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Davis DA, Mazmanian PE, Fordis M, Van Harrison R, Thorpe KE, Perrier L. Accuracy of physician self-assessment compared with observed measures of competence: a systematic review. JAMA. 2006 Sep 6;296(9):1094-102. doi: 10.1001/jama.296.9.1094.

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Kim J, Neilipovitz D, Cardinal P, Chiu M, Clinch J. A pilot study using high-fidelity simulation to formally evaluate performance in the resuscitation of critically ill patients: The University of Ottawa Critical Care Medicine, High-Fidelity Simulation, and Crisis Resource Management I Study. Crit Care Med. 2006 Aug;34(8):2167-74. doi: 10.1097/01.CCM.0000229877.45125.CC.

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McEvoy MD, Smalley JC, Nietert PJ, Field LC, Furse CM, Blenko JW, Cobb BG, Walters JL, Pendarvis A, Dalal NS, Schaefer JJ 3rd. Validation of a detailed scoring checklist for use during advanced cardiac life support certification. Simul Healthc. 2012 Aug;7(4):222-35. doi: 10.1097/SIH.0b013e3182590b07.

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Alam F, LeBlanc VR, Baxter A, Tarshis J, Piquette D, Gu Y, Filipowska C, Krywenky A, Kester-Greene N, Cardinal P, Au S, Lam S, Boet S, Clinical Trials Group PA. Does the age of acute care physicians impact their (1) crisis management performance and (2) learning after simulation-based education? A protocol for a multicentre prospective cohort study in Toronto and Ottawa, Canada. BMJ Open. 2018 Apr 21;8(4):e020940. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020940.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 29680811 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

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140-2015

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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