title: Mastery learning of advanced cardiac life support skills by internal medicine residents using simulation technology and deliberate practice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Internal medicine residents must be competent in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) for board certification.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To use a medical simulator to assess postgraduate year 2 (PGY-2) residents' baseline proficiency in ACLS scenarios and evaluate the impact of an educational intervention grounded in deliberate practice on skill development to mastery standards.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pretest-posttest design without control group. After baseline evaluation, residents received 4, 2-hour ACLS education sessions using a medical simulator. Residents were then retested. Residents who did not achieve a research-derived minimum passing score (MPS) on each ACLS problem had more deliberate practice and were retested until the MPS was reached.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-one PGY-2 internal medicine residents in a university-affiliated program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational checklists based on American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines with interrater and internal consistency reliability estimates; deliberate practice time needed for residents to achieve minimum competency standards; demographics; United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 and Step 2 scores; and resident ratings of program quality and utility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Performance improved significantly after simulator training. All residents met or exceeded the mastery competency standard. The amount of practice time needed to reach the MPS was a powerful (negative) predictor of posttest performance. The education program was rated highly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A curriculum featuring deliberate practice dramatically increased the skills of residents in ACLS scenarios. Residents needed different amounts of training time to achieve minimum competency standards. Residents enjoy training, evaluation, and feedback in a simulated clinical environment. This mastery learning program and other competency-based efforts illustrate outcome-based medical education that is now prominent in accreditation reform of residency education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. dwayne@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Diane B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Wayne
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Butter
authors.forename: Viva J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Siddall
authors.forename: Monica J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fudala
authors.forename: Leonard D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Wade
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Feinglass
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: McGaghie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002641:Chicago; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007858:Learning; D008020:Life Support Care / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods