The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and CAE Healthcare today announced a collaborative agreement to design and develop an interactive screen-based simulation product that will allow ASA members and other interested learners to supplement their continuing medical education (CME) and improve their management performance during anesthetic emergencies.
The ASA screen-based simulation product will allow flexible, asynchronous, self-paced and just-in-time training. Users will interact with simulated patients, surgeons and equipment within 3D virtual clinical settings, including the operating room (OR) and post anesthesia care unit (PACU), progressing through medical scenarios at their own pace, on their own time and in a setting of their choosing.
“This new ASA simulation product will give users an opportunity to immerse themselves in a learning environment in the comfort of their own home, using their own computer where they will be challenged by various medical scenarios to make the right decisions at critical junctures in a medical situation,” said Adam I. Levine, M.D., chair, ASA Ad Hoc Committee on Screen-based Simulation. “The product will use a gaming method where learners can enhance their medical abilities and decision making as well as see how they score among their peers.”
Historical data has shown the need for improved training for management of anesthetic emergencies. The ASA identified that more active learning modalities, like interactive screen-based simulation, are desirable for CME. In order to advance its mission, ASA selected CAE Healthcare and SimTabs to be their educational partners and deliver the benefits of accessible and engaging simulation-based anesthesia education in a virtual online environment.
The ASA screen-based simulation product will include five medical scenarios with realistic medical diagnostic and monitoring equipment, medical instruments and virtual patients with varied symptoms and conditions receiving various medications, who will respond to the actions learners take. The product will monitor and record member progress and performance throughout the scenarios. Performance feedback will be made available to individual users at either the completion of the scenario or at critical times during the scenario should that option be selected.
“ASA’s education should be interesting, engaging, and even fun”, said Beverly Philip, M.D., ASA vice president for scientific affairs. “This exciting, innovative screen-based simulation program will allow users to explore high-stakes practice scenarios in a realistic, immersive environment, at their choice of location and time. This will be a fabulous addition to the ASA education products already available, allowing learners to take what they learned and apply it in the screen-based scenario.”
“ASA and the anesthesia community were early adopters of high-fidelity simulation and they continue to lead the way in advancing simulation training that improves competency and clinical performance,” said Dr. Robert Amyot, President of CAE Healthcare. “We are delighted to collaborate with ASA on an innovative learning platform that will help define the future of simulation.”
ASA and CAE Healthcare will collaborate with ASA physician leaders, education directors and subject-matter experts to ensure that the product effectively aligns with ASA’s requirements for screen-based simulation. The product will be available for purchase through ASA with a projected launch date of January 2017.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists
Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 52,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves. For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/WhenSecondsCount.
About CAE Healthcare
CAE Healthcare offers cutting-edge learning tools to healthcare students and professionals, allowing them to develop practical experience through risk-free simulation training before treating real patients. CAE Healthcare's full spectrum of simulation solutions includes surgical and imaging simulation, curriculum, the LearningSpace audiovisual and center management platform and highly realistic adult, pediatric and baby patient simulators. Today, approximately 9,000 CAE Healthcare simulators and audiovisual solutions are in use worldwide by medical schools, nursing schools, hospitals, defence forces and other entities. www.cae.com/healthcare
About CAE
CAE (NYSE: CAE; TSX: CAE) is a global leader in the delivery of training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. We design and integrate the industry's most comprehensive training solutions, anchored by the knowledge and expertise of our 8,000 employees, our world-leading simulation technologies and a track record of service and technology innovation spanning seven decades. Our global presence is the broadest in the industry, with 160 sites and training locations in 35 countries, including our joint venture operations, and the world's largest installed base of flight simulators. Each year, we train more than 120,000 civil and defence crewmembers, as well as thousands of healthcare professionals.
Follow us on Twitter: @CAE_Inc
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American Society of Anesthesiologists contact:
Theresa Hill
(847) 268-9246, (773) 330-5273
