Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Endocrine emergencies such as hyponatraemia and hypercalcaemia commonly present during unselected medical on-call. However, in our hospital a questionnaire survey of trainees revealed lack of confidence and preparedness in managing endocrine emergencies. 18 trainees responded (12 Foundation Year 1 (FY1), 1 Foundation Year 2 (FY2), 5 Core Medical trainees (CT1) reporting lack of confidence and preparedness in managing endocrine emergencies. 76.92% of FY1 doctors felt strongly underprepared and under confident. All respondents felt they would benefit from more local teaching on the management of endocrine emergencies. 96.29% listed simulation as a preferred teaching method. We therefore decided to evaluate the use of simulation as a tool to improve junior doctors’ confidence, knowledge and preparedness in managing endocrine emergencies.

Methodology: Eight trainees (six FY and two CT1) participated in a three hour Simulation Training session, involving the endocrine emergencies: severe hyponatraemia, hypocalcaemia, hypercalcaemia and thyroid storm. The simulation was designed to be high fidelity, using a SimMan 3G manikin. Each scenario was followed by a debrief, facilitated by an endocrinology registrar and consultant, reflecting on both human and clinical factors. Participant feedback was collected following the session using a Likert scale.

Results: All eight trainees strongly agreed the scenarios were relevant to their training, interesting and interactive. All strongly agreed the session improved their knowledge and confidence in managing endocrine emergencies. All trainees felt that simulation training was better than traditional modes of teaching for learning the management of endocrine emergencies.

Conclusion: Simulation training was shown to be a feasible and popular method for teaching junior doctors management of endocrine emergencies. Although it is difficult to assess whether this simulation teaching will impact upon clinical outcomes, candidates reported improvements in their awareness of human factors and clinical knowledge of endocrine emergencies. This may have positive implications for future patient care.