title: Developing a Simulation-Based Training Program for the Prehospital Professionals and Students on the Management of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a major global health threat. Prehospital professionals face the risk of infection as they work to save lives. They should be made aware of the disease and be prepared to handle such cases. The aims of our study are to develop a training program about the prehospital management of a MERS case using standardized patient (SP) scenarios, to evaluate the awareness and preparedness of the participants about MERS, and to evaluate the effectiveness of this training.
  
  
  METHODS
  We developed 5 scenarios using SPs and an observation form. We included paramedic students and emergency medical service (EMS) providers in our study. They were involved in the simulations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 24 paramedic students and 33 EMS providers participated in our study. Sixteen (84%) of 19 teams recognized the possibility of MERS as a measure of their awareness in the baseline evaluation. The participants lacked donning and doffing personal protective equipments, which revealed their baseline level of preparedness for MERS. Certain improvements in donning and doffing personal protective equipment were observed in the posttraining evaluation. The participants provided positive feedback on the training program.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The training program was appropriate for both paramedic students and EMS providers. A positive educational climate was created. Because the main concerns of this study were awareness and preparedness, which required human interaction, the SP methodology was the optimal simulation modality.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Medical Education and Informatics (M.E., A.O., O.O.), Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine; Program of First and Emergency Aid (M.S.), Hacettepe University Vocational School of Health Sciences; Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (H.I.), Gulhane Military Medical Academy; and General Directorate of Emergency Health Care (P.D.K., D.C., O.A.N.) and Konya Simulation Training Center (I.G., Y.U.), Ministry of Health, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Melih
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elcin
authors.forename: Arif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Onan
authors.forename: Orhan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Odabasi
authors.forename: Melahat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saylam
authors.forename: Handan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ilhan
authors.forename: Pinar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Daylan Kockaya
authors.forename: Ilker
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gurcuoglu
authors.forename: Yavuz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uckuyu
authors.forename: Duygu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cengiz
authors.forename: Osman Arikan
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Nacar
mesh_terms: D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016544:Patient Simulation; D016730:Program Development