Simulator Training: Reducing Risk in Helicopter Rescue

Simulation-based training has a significant effect in enhancing professionals’ skills in the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) setting and is reported to be more effective than other learning strategies. The main objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of a specific high-fidelity simulation (HFS) training course for HEMS nurses before entering into operational service.

This report describes the first Italian experience of a specifically designed HFS training program for HEMS nurses held in Bologna, Italy, in a dedicated scenario with a mock-up helicopter and an advanced mannequin.

A total of 14 nurses participated in the SAFE2019 (Simulazione ad Alta Fedeltà per l'Elisoccorso–High-Fidelity Simulation for HEMS) courses. The aspects considered most useful and effective were related to team working, communication issues, and nontechnical skills (NTS) development. Moreover, participants suggested implementing a series of scheduled HFS retraining sessions.

HFS in a dedicated HEMS scenario during the orientation period has contributed to enhanced technical competencies and NTS, increasing comfort and situational awareness for new entrant flight nurses. Simulation may represent a valuable resource to assess and maintain competencies through periodic retraining sessions for full HEMS teams or when new devices are adopted.

Adapting to the air medical transport environment is challenging and complex for crewmembers, with many variables extending beyond medical management of the critically ill patient. The need for all air medical transport professionals to maintain a solid commitment to safety remains paramount. Not only are individual crewmembers responsible for maintaining safe delivery of care, but organizational leadership is responsible for establishing and promoting a culture of safety. Although the air medical transport community varies on their need to establish such guidelines, nurse leaders should work to support the development of best practice guidelines for standardized training at their facilities to ensure the safety of their air medical crews and the patients they serve. The Dorothy Ebersbach Academic Center for Flight Nursing at The Frances Payne Bolton (FPB) School of Nursing in Cleveland, Ohio designs standardized training for novice to expert crewmembers focusing on the adoption of safe patient care practices during medical transport in civilian environments.

Simulation training is an integral part of the training of medical personnel. However, there are limited data on the use of simulation in the training of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS).

In this study, we retrospectively compared the number of orientation flights needed to be released to a full crewmember and the cost of training in an air medical flight academy before and after implementation of a high-fidelity air medical simulator. A total of 13 participants in the air medical services flight academy were analyzed. Four of these participants went through the standard academy. Nine participants went through the standard academy but had additional training using the simulator.

There was no statistical difference in the number of orientation flights before release from training (P = .35). Also, although there was a trend that the simulator decreased the overall cost of training, there was no significant difference between the groups (P = .16).

This study found that the use of a high-fidelity simulator when training HEMS personnel does not significantly reduce the number of orientation flights needed to become a full crewmember. There was a trend toward a significant reduction in the total cost of training.

Mountain helicopter rescue operations often confront crews with unique challenges in which even minor errors can result in dangerous situations. Simulation training provides a promising tool to train the management of complex multidisciplinary settings, thus reducing the occurrence of fatal errors and increasing the safety for both the patient and the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) crew.

A simulation-based training, dedicated to mountain helicopter emergency medicine service, was developed and executed. We evaluated the impact of this training by the means of a pre- and posttraining self-assessment of 40 HEMS crewmembers.

Multidisciplinary simulation-based educational training in HEMS is feasible. There was a significant increase in self-assessed competence in safety-related items of human factors and team resource management. The highest gain of competence was demonstrated by a trend in the domain of structured decision making.

Interprofessional simulation-based team training could have the potential to impact patient outcomes and improve rescuer safety. Simulation trainings lead to a subjective increase of self-assuredness in the management of complex situations in a difficult working environment.

The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges new crewmembers experience in the critical care transport (CCT) environment and to determine the most valuable resources when acclimating to the transport environment. To date, no study has focused on the unique challenges nor the resources most effective in CCT training.

This descriptive exploratory study was conducted with a convenience survey sent to the 3 largest professional CCT organizations: the Association of Air Medical Services, the Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association, and the Association of Critical Care Transport.

The study survey responses revealed that more education and training are needed. Novice crewmembers identified areas in safety, communication, environment, and crew resource management as particularly challenging. Responses also validate the need for more simulation training, especially for CCT of low-volume/high-risk patient populations.

Results of this survey provide valuable insight for improving training effectiveness of health care professionals transitioning to the CCT environment. More information regarding best practice on the frequency and timing of CCT simulation training should be collected, particularly for simulations completed in the transport environment.

Christoph Life is a simulator-based air medical training program and a new and innovative educational concept. Participants pass different scenarios with a fully equipped and movable helicopter simulator. Main focuses of the program are crew resource management (CRM) elements and team training. Information about expectations end effectiveness of the training is sparse.

During a 2-day training, participants learn CRM basics and complete various emergency medical scenarios. For evaluation, we used an anonymous questionnaire either with polar questions or a 6-coded psychometric Likert scale. The Wilcoxon test was used for statistical analysis. The significance level was set at P < .05.

Thirteen teams of emergency physicians and specially trained paramedics underwent Christoph Life. It was evaluated largely positively and considered very helpful for daily work (5.7 ± 0.5) and avoiding mistakes (5.7 ± 0.5). The quality of participants' knowledge about CRM basics (3.5 ± 1.2 vs. 5.4 ± 0.7, P < .001), self-assessment of communication skills (4.2 ± 0.7 vs. 4.8 ± 0.8, P = .02), and active reflection of communication aspects (3.9 ± 0.9 vs. 5.5 ± 0.5, P < .001) could be strikingly increased.

There is a considerable demand for intensified training on the part of the users. We were able to show that a simulator-based air medical training program is a helpful training tool with an obvious subjective benefit for the participants’ nontechnical skills.