Simulator-based team training for emergency medical: Exemplary concept for comprehensive implementation

Background: Simulator based training is extensively used in many non-medical high-risk industries. Critical scenarios and standard situations can be trained in complete safety. Results and objectives: Situations which are regularly met in the field by the emergency team can be simulated. Careful planning and preparation of realistic scenarios is vital to ensure acceptance by the participants and a high rate of transfer of skills to the daily working environment. Only training which is carried out by all emergency medical personnel in the region can achieve a high level of effectiveness. The instructors of the simulation team at the Saint Josef Hospital in Freiburg developed a 1‑day seminar with practical as well as theoretical contents. This was implemented over 1 year for more than 100 paramedics in the region. The concept focused on short lectures and intensive debriefings following scenarios in which the participants developed strategies for crew resource management, non technical skills and learned to put it into practice. The organizers wanted to demonstrate the practicability of a regionwide education concept in simulation and team training for the emergency medical service. Conclusions: With the help of the carefully developed course concept an impressive training course was offered. The participants, when questioned directly after the course, were satisfied with the training and the results. In a further evaluation after some months the success and aftereffects of the project were confirmed.