Improving Pediatric Resident Communication During Family-Centered Rounds Using a Novel Simulation-Based Curriculum

Abstract

Introduction: While family-centered rounds (FCR) have become increasingly important in pediatrics, there is often no training for residents on appropriate FCR practice. This curriculum was developed to address this identified gap in pediatric trainee education through a combination of didactic presentation, direct observation, and simulated FCR. Methods: Residents participated in a didactic presentation on key components of FCR and tenets of communication with families. A subset of residents participated in a simulated intervention in which they practiced an FCR encounter using a mock patient case and received immediate feedback from a multidisciplinary team. Following the simulation, residents completed follow-up surveys and focus group discussions to assess their experience and comfort. Resident trainees were observed and rated during FCR by trained parent advisors using a novel FCR checklist both before and after participation in the simulation. Results: This curriculum was implemented with 10 pediatric interns (intervention group). These residents demonstrated statistically significant improvements in the areas of greeting family by name and soliciting rounding preferences, enhancing family comfort in participating in FCR, and increasing family engagement in FCR. Compared to controls, intervention group residents had higher ratings on the majority of performance items. Resident-reported self-efficacy in conducting FCR increased following the intervention, and the feedback portion of the intervention was highly valued. Discussion: Simulation-based training is an effective model for teaching residents best practices in FCR with lasting impact on resident communication skills as seen in comparative analysis from before and after the intervention.

Linguistic analysis of pediatric residency personal statements: gender differences

“…Students rotating through pediatrics, for example, are taught that family-centeredness is the gold standard in providing pediatric care [46–48]. Students receive feedback on their family-centered rounding skills and may even be required to attend workshops on optimizing family-centered care [46, 47]. This emphasis and evaluation of the pediatric trainee’s skills in relationship-centeredness demonstrates to the student applicant that communal traits are not only expected but highly valued by faculty in pediatrics.…”

Linguistic Analysis of Pediatric Residency Personal Statements: Gender Differences

“…Students rotating through pediatrics, for example, are taught that family-centeredness is the gold standard in providing pediatric care (46)(47)(48). Students receive feedback on their family-centered rounding skills and may even be required to attend workshops on optimizing family-centered care (46,47). This emphasis and evaluation of the pediatric trainee's skills in relationship-centeredness demonstrates to the student applicant that communal traits are not only expected but highly valued by faculty in pediatrics.…”

Improving Patient- and Family-Centered Communication in Pediatrics: A Review of Simulation-Based Learning

“…26,45 There were other educational curricula that simulated difficult conversations in more than one context and included multiple scenarios such as end-of-life care, medication error, child abuse, and vaccine hesitancy. [2][3][4][5]8,9,12,14,16,24,28,32,34,40,46 A few examples of unique curricula aimed at improving PFCC communication focused on discussing diagnostic uncertainty, 47 adolescent health and mental health issues, 31,32 family-centered rounds, 48 and holding conversations that commonly occur during hospitalizations such as educating about a diagnosis or discharge and follow-up care. 28,29 Although contexts varied, the key themes of responding to emotions, increasing empathy, and understanding family and patient perspectives were prevalent throughout.…”

“…45 Several derived novel frameworks from existing literature. 37,48 Educational frameworks were utilized for presenting information during didactic portions of SBL-CS and as models for assessment of simulated conversations.…”