By David J. Adriansen, Ed.D., NREMT
VISN 23 Simulation Champion
Minneapolis VA Health Care System

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minneapolis VA Health Care System (MVAHCS) recently became the first VA-managed Society for Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES) Testing Center.

FES was developed by SAGES as a comprehensive educational and assessment tool designed to teach and evaluate the knowledge, clinical judgment and technical skills required in the performance of basic gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopic surgery (endoscopy). SAGES believe learning and applying these fundamental skills will help ensure a minimal standard of care for all patients undergoing endoscopic surgery.

For the rest of the story, please click here. 

(Above) Dr. Archana Ramaswamy (right), surgeon at the Minneapolis VAHCS and FES Training Center director, instructs Dr. Kaustav Majumder on endoscopic procedural skills using a virtual reality simulation trainer. (VA photo by April Eilers)

By Gerald Sonnenberg
EES Marketing and Communication

ORLANDO, Fla. – The VHA educational game Palliative Care for Veterans “Goals of Care Conversation,” is now available on VHA’s TRAIN educational platform. VHA TRAIN is a gateway into TRAIN National, a free service of the Public Health Foundation and one of the most widely used learning management systems, providing a comprehensive catalog of public health learning products. 

The goal of this course is to help clinicians, including physicians, advance practice nurses and physician assistants to proactively conduct goals-of-care conversations with patients who have a serious illness. This is important in ensuring that the patient’s values, goals and treatment preferences are followed.

This educational virtual environment is designed to provide participants with meaningful opportunities to acquire and practice these communication skills. The learner practices these skills in an immersive and realistic environment, with immediate feedback from a virtual mentor to help reinforce important skills. This virtual training program will help busy clinicians practice discussing with a patient and their caregivers in making quality-of-life decisions that meet their own in what are, understandably, stressful situations.

A posttest is offered, and all trainees will be required to complete the posttest and course evaluation prior to printing their completion certificate. In addition, participants will participate in a Level 3 evaluation at the three and six month intervals to discuss the efficacy of this educational game.

This training is accredited through the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). It is available on VHA TRAIN here, or on the myEES portal here.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) teaches registered nurses core level knowledge and psychomotor skills, which are defined as central or key elements of the multidimensional processes involved in the initial assessment and management of sick or injured patients. TNCC also provides a foundation for integrated communication and collaboration in identifying and treating the sick or injured.

The intent of TNCC is to help nurses develop a rapid and accurate approach when caring for the ill or injured patient. TNCC consists of lectures, hands-on psychomotor skill stations and interactive online learning.

More about this course and others is available here.  

(Above) Susie Martenson (left), SimLEARN clinical faculty nurse, shows a TNCC Instructor class a supraglottic airway that can be used in a patient during training at the VHA SimLEARN National Simulation Center in June. The students pictured are Registered Nurses Jaime Mis (center), from the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, Florida; and Elaine Goodwin, from the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, Washington. (VA photo by Gerald Sonnenberg) 

By Dixie Fowler, RN, CMSRN, CNOR, CPAN
Education Consultant
Roseburg VA Medical Center

ROSEBURG, Ore. – The Roseburg VA Health Care System (VAHCS) hospice coordinator recently requested training for the hospice volunteers to learn correct infection control procedures. Hospice volunteers often encounter hazards in the hospital environment in the form of potentially infectious microorganisms. Patients who require isolation represent an increased risk for the volunteers who frequently hold the patient’s hand and sit with them by the bedside. The training helps to reinforce infection control practices to protect the volunteers and other patients from any infectious microorganisms present in the isolation room of patients in hospital and long-term care settings.

Five hospice volunteers participated in the training, which included reviewing hospital isolation signage. Simulation was used to teach correct hand hygiene with both alcohol-based hand sanitizer and traditional soap and water. In addition, the donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) was demonstrated in a group setting. The volunteers then practiced donning an isolation gown and gloves and interacted with the high-fidelity mannequin.

A powder with an ultraviolet fluorescent glow was used on the mannequin. The powder is visible under a black light to test how well the isolation precautions protected the volunteer’s clothing. After each of the volunteers carefully doffed the isolation gown and gloves and washed their hands with soap and water, a black light was used to detect the presence of the powder from the mannequin on their hands and clothing. Only one hospice volunteer showed a few specks of the powder visible on their clothing. Simulation staff reinforced the importance of controlling the movement of blankets and curtains to decrease contamination of the environment. 

The hospice volunteers said they were satisfied with the new material learned, and a change in practice on the course evaluations. As a result, it is hoped that volunteers will feel more comfortable as they provide a valued service in their care for Veteran patients after practicing correct procedures for entering and exiting the isolation rooms.  

By Lois Waybright, RN-BC, MSN
Acting Chief Education Learning Resources
Martinsburg VA Medical Center

MARTINSBURG, W. Va. – On April 6, Sergeant Derrick Smith and Officer Edward Rollyson, with the Martinsburg VA Medical Center (VAMC), received the Department of Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Health’s National Commendation award for an Act of Heroism. The clinical staff credited the two officers with saving a Veteran’s life due, in part, to the simulation training police at the Martinsburg VAMC received.

It was on Saturday, Feb. 18 that Martinsburg police were notified of a medical emergency in the Internet Café. Arriving at the main medical center building, Rollyson saw Veterans from the Café in the hallway waving for help. Hearing shouts of, “He’s not breathing! He’s not breathing!” Rollyson quickly saw a Veteran slumped over in a chair. After radioing dispatch for help, he assessed the condition of the Veteran and discovered the Veteran had no pulse or respiration and was unresponsive. Smith then arrived to assist.

For the rest of the story, please click here. 

In the photo, (left to right) Sergeant Derrick N. Smith, Timothy Cooke, medical center director, and Officer Edward L. Rollyson pose for a photo following the award ceremony. (VA courtesy photo)  

By Gerald Sonnenberg
EES Marketing and Communication

ORLANDO, Fla. – The award-winning educational game Difficult Airway Algorithm and Rescue Cricothyrotomy (DAARC) training program was recently approved to contribute to both the patient safety continuing medical education (CME) requirement for Part II: Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment and the Part IV: Improvement in Medical Practice requirement of the American Board of Anesthesiology’s (ABA) redesigned Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology Program (MOCA), known as MOCA 2.0. 

DAARC was designed for a multidisciplinary audience, including anesthesiologists, surgeons, emergency physicians and critical care physicians. Development of the training took three years with the goal being to deliver standardized, performance-based training to the VA network of medical facilities around the country. It helps VHA to proactively provide patient-driven critical clinical skills and cognitive support to staff to train them to safely practice decision-making and step-by-step procedures necessary in the event of a difficult airway scenario in an operating or emergency room. 

In January, DAARC was named winner of the 2017 Serious Games and Virtual Environments Best in Show Award. The award was presented Jan. 31 in the Developing Commercial Interest large Company/Corporation Category at the conclusion of the 7th Annual Serious Games and Virtual Environments Arcade and Showcase. The competition took place during the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH), Jan. 28-Feb. 1, in Orlando. 

“The difficult airway game helps fill a training gap to sustain low occurrence, highly emergent skills that physicians and respiratory therapists may need at a moment’s notice – patient rescue in difficult airway scenarios,” said Leslie Dubow, VHA EES associate director for educational gaming. 

Simply click here to access DAARC on the myEES portal. Educational Gaming is part of the EES eLearning Division, which develops cutting edge technologies, helps provide Veteran access to virtual health care information and services and provides employee engagement opportunities with new educational products using gaming technology. 

ORLANDO, Fla. – Bonnie Haupt, DNP, RN, CNL, CHSE, clinical nurse leader at the South Texas VA Health Care System in San Antonio, earned a 3rd place award in the Operations category at the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learnings (INACSL) 2017 Conference in Washington D.C., June 22-24.

(Right) Bonnie Haupt displays the award she received for her poster presentation called, “Designing the Future with Patient-Centered Simulation Education.” (VA courtesy photo)