Intro to Simulation Facilitation & PFCCS

Opportunity

In health care, clinicians are continually required to ensure they have the tools necessary to deliver the best care possible. This is done by taking courses from certified facilities which often include participating in simulation-based activities. In many cases, OSF HealthCare sends its physicians, nurses and others to educational venues that are at least 100 miles away, costing the hospital system thousands of dollars in registration fees, lodging and travel.

Solution

OSF HealthCare, through Jump Simulation, developed two courses that allow clinicians to maintain and advance their skills from the comfort of their own world-class facilities in Peoria, Illinois. The Introduction to Simulation Facilitation course is a requirement for medical school faculty and clinical educators who want to use mannequin or standardized patient-based simulations to train learners. The program gives participants the fundamentals to plan, run and debrief a simulation.

The second course, called Pediatric Fundamental Critical Care Support (PFCCS), prepares physicians, physician assistants, nurses, respiratory therapists and advanced practice providers to care for critically ill pediatric patients for the first 24 hours until transfer or appropriate critical care can be arranged.

Impact

A Fair Market Value analysis performed at Jump found that offering the Introduction to Simulation Facilitation course saved OSF HealthCare nearly $34,000 in Fiscal Year 2016. The in—house Pediatric Fundamental Critical Care Support program saved more than $11,000. This savings for PFCCS was also made possible through faculty contributions from UICOMP which are not included in the calculated costs for OSF.

Intro to Simulation Facilitation: "The goal is for learners to take the information and tools they've gained from the course back to their respective hospitals, improving the quality of simulation-based training across OSF HealthCare facilities. Our vision is that high quality simulation-based education will lead to improved outcomes for patients."
-Lisa Barker, MD, Director of Education, Jump Simulation

"Pediatric Fundamental Critical Care Support: Jump is a perfect venue to administer the PFCCS program as it allows us to deliver didactics and skill stations effectively and run simulation scenarios with realism, in a concise two-day course. Skilled Jump faculty and technicians bring the simulation scenarios to life, giving the learner a well-rounded experience."
-Girish G. Deshpande, MD, associate professor of clinical pediatrics, University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria

Internal vs. External Education

Given that clinicians literally hold the lives of many in their hands, it's no surprise they are required to not only maintain the knowledge of their respective medical fields but also continue to learn about new and developing areas to hone their skills.

Medical professionals receive continuing medical and nursing education from a variety of accredited organizations including educational institutions, medical education agencies and hospitals. However, many of these other educational venues are at least 100 miles away, costing OSF HealthCare thousands of dollars in registration fees, lodging and travel.

OSF HealthCare, through Jump Simulation, is using its own resources and world-class facilities to offer required educational programs that not only save money, but ensure clinicians are receiving training that aligns the health care system's way of delivering care.

The Courses

The Introduction to Simulation Facilitation course is a requirement for medical school faculty and clinical educators who want to use simulation to train learners at Jump. The program gives participants the fundamentals to plan, run and debrief a simulation. It was designed, facilitated and is continuously being improved by the Jump Education team and fellow leaders in simulation-based education. Content is updated every two years.

The second course, called Pediatric Fundamental Critical Care Support, is licensed from the Society for Critical Care Medicine and prepares physicians, physician assistants, nurses, respiratory therapists and advance practice providers to care for critically ill pediatric patients for the first 24 hours until transfer or appropriate critical care can be arranged. It is run by clinical leaders from OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois and faculty at University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria with operational support from Jump Simulation. Content is updated every four years.

The Benefit

The Fair Market Value analysis performed by Jump, in collaboration with business development and finance planning personnel, compared the cost benefit of providing these courses internally as opposed to using external educational options. Travel estimates are based on the two nearest training opportunities in Chicago and Springfield.

The Introduction to Simulation Facilitation course saved OSF HealthCare nearly $34,000 in Fiscal Year 2016. The in-house Pediatric Fundamental Critical Care Support program saved OSF HealthCare more than $11,000, as well as providing the intangible benefit of greater accessibility for busy providers. The benefit for the PFCCS course was also made possible through the contributions of UICOMP pediatric faculty, who are not employees of OSF HealthCare.