The use of "war games" to enhance high-risk clinical decision-making in students and residents.
BACKGROUND
Initial studies found that residents and students performed poorly in simple clinical scenarios. We hypothesized that repeated simulations in the "war games" format would improve performance.


METHODS
Participants included medical students and residents on the trauma and surgical intensive care unit (SICU) services. Subjects were given a nursing report of an unstable patient and asked to verbalize management of the situation. Responses were transcribed and graded.


RESULTS
Eighty subjects and 5 experts participated in 227 simulations. Naive medical students, postgraduate year (PGY)-1, and PGY-2+ subjects performed worse than experts (P <.05). After participation in >/=3 war games sessions, trainees' scores were similar to experts. Subjects with the least amount of clinical experience demonstrated the most improvement.


CONCLUSIONS
We have designed an educational system that rapidly enhances the cognitive performance of students and residents. This may represent an important tool in assessing and enhancing the competencies of medical trainees in a safe environment.
Hedrick
Traci L
TL
University of Virginia Cognitive Research Laboratory, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA 22906-0709, USA.
Young
Jeffrey S
JS
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003422:Critical Care; D003657:Decision Making; D004630:Emergencies; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D019300:Medical Errors; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*