A Novel Approach to Neonatal Resuscitation Education for Senior Emergency Medicine Residents

Abstract

The majority of pediatric visits occur in general emergency departments. Caring for critically ill neonates is a low-frequency but high-stakes event for emergency physicians, which requires specialized knowledge and hands-on training. We describe a novel clinical rotation for emergency medicine (EM) residents that specifically augments skills in neonatal resuscitation through direct participation as a member of the neonatal resuscitation team. The neonatal resuscitation rotation evaluation median score of 4 (interquartile range [IQR] 3,4) was higher compared to all other off-service senior resident rotations combined (median 3, IQR 3,4) for the academic year 2018–2019. Ninety-two percent of residents evaluated the curriculum change as beneficial (median 4, IQR 4,4). The neonatal resuscitation rotation was rated more favorably than the pediatric intensive care rotation (median 4 IQR 3,4 vs median 3, IQR 2, 3) at a tertiary care children’s hospital during the third year. Residency programs may want to consider implementing a directed neonatal resuscitation experience as part of a comprehensive pediatric curriculum for EM residents.