O3293: Multi-modal Staged Pediatric Airway Education for Transport Providers

Background: A needs assessment of transport nurses, medics and respiratory therapists at our quaternary children’s hospital found that both novice and experienced staff desired more confidence in their airway management skills, especially given limited opportunities to practice in controlled settings. We sought to design a comprehensive multi-modal education program to sequence content from knowledge acquisition to critical thinking to practice.

Methods: An escalating three-phase didactic plan was designed with collaboration among educational leaders in the divisions of Transport, Emergency Medicine, Nursing and Anesthesiology. In Phase 1, learners completed self-guided skills of normal airway management including use of several devices on various size manikins. Phase 2 included facilitated case discussions of airway challenges emphasizing critical thinking and hands on airway skills on manikins, expanding to difficult airway skills. Phase 3 allowed participants to integrate case-based learning in simulations facilitated by airway experts. We report participation rates for each phase and staff satisfaction with the program.

Results: A total of 39 providers including nurses (n=20), paramedics (n=11), and respiratory therapists (n=8) participated in the program from April through June 2022. Cumulatively, participants completed over 48 hours of skill repetition, and mid-course surveys revealed overall satisfaction with participation as collected qualitative comments on course. Simulation sessions were universally well received. Of participants who completed a post-survey, 92% (23/25) agreed or strongly agreed that they would be able to apply knowledge in their clinical environment, and 96% (25/26) felt that participation was a valuable experience.

Conclusion: A three—phase airway education program was feasible, well received, and improved team comfort with advanced airway skills. Our experience showed that in a setting where low frequency, high stakes airway procedures are rare and opportunities to maintain skills are limited, a robust approach that marries cognitive strategy development and hands on skills, fulfilled a need for staff education. Further study will determine how this education impacts patient care and future cycles of this project are in progress.