Role of simulation in COVID-19 management

Abstract

Simulation is a method of teaching which uses simple and/or sophisticated technology to educate the target audience through guided experience and interactions that evoke real-world scenarios, which is being increasingly used in the field of medicine. Specifically, in situ simulation that is designed using specific scenarios within environments that replicate real-world clinical issues, to train multidisciplinary teams to test systems, and improve outcomes. Although it is routinely used for supplementing medical education, the current COVID-19 pandemic gives us a perfect opportunity to use simulation to test the preparedness of health-care facilities for managing COVID-19 patients and also to train health-care workers (HCWs) in the skills necessary to protect themselves from the infection while taking care of the infected patients. The HCWs can be trained in various aspects of personal safety, as well as modifications to their existing protocols needed to take care of COVID-19 patients. Here, we present how the health facilities can adopt simulation to prepare for the current pandemic and identify gaps in the systems and processes that can be corrected. We also share our experience of using this methodology for COVID-19 preparedness in a tertiary care pediatric facility.

Keywords

• covid-19
• hospital preparedness
• simulation