Prior Participation in Simulation Events Is Associated With Insimulation Team Performance Among Emergency Medical Services Professionals.

INTRODUCTION: Prior evidence has supported the use of high-fidelity simulation in initial emergency medical services (EMS) education, but there is a dearth of research on whether EMS professionals can also benefit from it. We sought to examine simulation use and years of practice as predictors of insimulation team performance among EMS professionals. The hypothesis is that both the prior participation in simulation events and the accumulated years of practice will predict insimulation performance.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted as part of a simulation-based EMS competition. Paramedic and physician teams were tested. Participants' years of EMS and healthcare practice and their prior participation in simulation events were assessed with a survey and correlated with performance in the competition.

RESULTS: Participants were 120 EMS professionals from 51 teams, which was 75% of all competitors. They had in average 8.03 years of healthcare practice and 5.71 years of EMS practice and had previously participated in 4.34 simulation events. The prior participation in simulation events correlated significantly with EMS insimulation performance at the team level (r = 0.40-0.59). In contrast, neither the years of healthcare practice nor the years of EMS practice significantly predicted insimulation team performance. Furthermore, there was no interaction of simulation use and years of practice.

CONCLUSIONS: The benefits of simulation use are not limited to initial EMS education but spread also to experienced professionals. Even individuals who have been working in the field for many years may benefit from high-fidelity simulation. Future research should examine whether this also translates into better clinical performance.