Incorporating three-dimensional printing into a simulation-based congenital heart disease and critical care training curriculum for resident physicians.
OBJECTIVE
Although simulation-based education is now commonly utilized in medicine, its use in the instruction of congenital heart disease remains limited. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether heart models created with three-dimensional printing technology can be effectively incorporated into a simulation-based congenital heart disease and critical care training curriculum for pediatric resident physicians.


METHODS
Utilizing heart models created with a three-dimensional printer, pediatric residents participated in a 60-minute simulation seminar with three consecutive components: (1) didactic instruction on ventricular septal defect anatomy; (2) didactic/simulation-based instruction on echocardiographic imaging of ventricular septal defects and anatomical teaching/operative simulation of ventricular septal defect repair; (3) simulation-based instruction on postoperative critical care management of ventricular septal defects.


METHODS
Academic, free-standing, children's hospital with quaternary care referrals.


METHODS
Twenty-three pediatric resident physicians.


METHODS
Subjective, Likert-type questionnaires assessing knowledge acquisition, knowledge reporting, and structural conceptualization of ventricular septal defects.


RESULTS
Three-dimensional printing technology was successfully utilized to create heart models of five common ventricular septal defect subtypes. After using these models in a simulation-based curriculum, pediatric residents were found to have improvement in the areas of knowledge acquisition (P = .0082), knowledge reporting (P = .01), and structural conceptualization (P < .0001) of ventricular septal defects, as well as improvement in the ability to describe and manage postoperative complications in ventricular septal defect patients in the critical care setting.


CONCLUSIONS
The utilization of three-dimensional printing in a simulation-based congenital heart disease and critical care training curriculum is feasible and improves pediatric resident physicians' understanding of a common congenital heart abnormality.
Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA; The Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA.
John P
JP
Costello
Laura J
LJ
Olivieri
Lillian
L
Su
Axel
A
Krieger
Fahad
F
Alfares
Omar
O
Thabit
M Blair
MB
Marshall
Shi-Joon
SJ
Yoo
Peter C
PC
Kim
Richard A
RA
Jonas
Dilip S
DS
Nath
D003422:Critical Care; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000151:congenital*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional; D000066908:Simulation Training
Congenital Heart Disease; Medical Education; Medical Simulation; Simulation-based Education; Three-dimensional Printing