VCURES Develops Unique Multidisciplinary Course on Management of the Difficult Airway

VCURES has recently developed and is providing educational courses in the Management of the Difficult Airway (MDA). Airway management skills are a necessary component to anyone involved in the care of the critically ill or injured patient. Failed oxygenation and ventilation in the critically ill remains an important issue for hospital and pre-hospital based providers. The Anesthesiologist, Emergency Medicine Specialist, Trauma Surgeon, ICU specialist, Paramedic and other critical care providers require the necessary training to offer the critically ill or injured patient the best opportunity for improved outcome. The demand for these skills is tested when the provider confronts a patient with the emergent difficult airway. The opportunity for providers to acquire the array of skills is limited and the technical expertise to provide the training is even more limited. Using a unique multidisciplinary approach, VCURES has produced the MDA Program.

The course was developed by:

Greg Christiansen, MD: Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine: MDA Program Co-Director
Robert Stallings, MD: Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology: MDA Program Co-Director
Marsh Cuttino, MD: Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Anesthesiology: VCURES Director of Informatics and Human Simulation
Lisa Masica, CRNA, MS: Department of Anesthesiology

This program melds the technical expertise with skilled educators to provide the best training experience. The program includes members from the VCU Departments of Anesthesiology and Emergency Medicine experienced in emergent airway management and the physiology of the critically ill and injured patient. The program also leverages both departments’ significant skills in education and human patient simulator technology. The VCURES’ system offers the best platform to disseminate the training opportunities beyond the VCU Health System. VCURES is using METI’s new Emergency Care Simulator (http://www.meti.com/ecs.html) because of its excellent airway training capabilities and most importantly because it allows training to be done in the context of the acute and complex physiologic changes that occur in the peri-intubation period. “It is simply not enough to teach the cognitive skill portion of airway management now. The use of needed but potentially dangerous pharmacologic agents during airway management when combined with the complex physiology of the acutely ill and injured patient requires that providers understand and be able to react to the physiology in real-time,” explains Stalling and Christiansen. This is becoming especially important in the elderly population.

Based on simulated life-like encounters nearly any scenario can be developed to offer clinical experience. Unique to this program is the ability to learn and practice not only the cognitive skills involved in airway management, but also the rapid decision-making and assessment skills required for total patient management in the peri-intubation period. A variety of interventions are demonstrated and direct experiences allow the trainee to gain confidence. Future plans of the program include direct digital photography and real time digital analysis of the trainee’s performance. Additionally, the VCURES’ MDA platform supports new opportunities for research and improvements in patient care.

The course recently made its debut in training emergency medicine residents and faculty from the Eastern Virginia Medical School’s Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and was sponsored by the Virginia Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

The audiences targeted for this training include any medical or paramedical involved in the management of the airway of the acutely ill or injured patient. For more information please contact VCURES.