Simulation

MUSC’s AFN Division has its own dedicated laboratory space, task trainers for all anesthesia airway and invasive skills, and a high-fidelity mannequin within a simulated operating room. Students use the task trainers to learn basic airway management and eventually advance to practicing crisis situation in high-fidelity simulation. Throughout the program students have unlimited access to all task trainers so that they can practice skills at their convenience. Using small group instruction, students are given the opportunity to use their knowledge, develop skills, learn behaviors, and work with equipment that is used in daily anesthesia practice.

Both the post-baccalaureate and post-master’s DNAP programs at MUSC use clinical simulation to teach hands-on skills and reinforce critical thinking throughout the curriculum. Simulation gives both novice and experienced students the opportunity to be trained in a variety of skills and be exposed to multiple patient scenarios, before advancing to their clinical training. Clinical simulation is taught over three of the seven semesters of the post-baccalaureate program and students are required to pass a skills assessment at the end of each semester before advancing to the next level.

Throughout both programs, simulation curriculum is designed to parallel didactic content. As students advance through the programs, the focus of the simulations change from skill performance to critical thinking and the application of anesthesia didactic content. Scenarios and situations faced in simulation become more complex and students are required to work together within the high-fidelity simulator to manage cases and troubleshoot patient’s complications as they arise in real time. Crisis simulation is taught, exclusively using high-fidelity simulator, at the end of the post-baccalaureate and post-master’s programs. The course trains students for situations that are infrequent yet significantly life threatening to patients such as malignant hyperthermia, anaphylaxis, and hemorrhage.