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Presentation

COVID 19 and social networking: information sharing across systems with in situ simulation
Event Type
Discussion Panel
TimeFriday, April 1611:00am - 12:00pm EDT
LocationEducation and Simulation
DescriptionWhen COVID 19 emerged in the US, HCWs were rapidly mobilized to care for these patients. In situ simulation was used to train Healthcare workers (HCW)s in many institutions. This training included the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), COVID-19 safety protocols, and execution of novel treatment algorithms. In situ simulation was used to provide realistic scenarios that recreated the clinical situations seen in COVID 19 patients i.e., in situ, supported robust multidisciplinary training while uncovering latent threats to patient safety at the team, unit, and system level.
In contrast to other in situ simulations that often focus on a particular microsystem, we identified several novel aspects of the COVID 19 in situ simulations. Though the ISS took place in a particular unit (microsystem), the challenges faced by one unit were similar across multiple microsystems
Early in the COVID-19 response, the investigators implemented ISS in several units. It became clear that clinical teams and units were developing their own solutions and processes to address the challenges associated with COVID-19 patient care. Through ISS, we were able to help evaluate processes and solutions, identifying potential pitfalls and effective adaptations. We were able to facilitate the sharing of information about successes and failures amongst teams, microsystems and units, creating opportunities for microsystems to observe and learn from others’ experience. The ISS also became venues in which individuals from different microsystems attended and shared knowledge they had obtained from colleagues in COVID “hotspots”. The simulation team served to span boundaries and dissolve silos that separated units and microsystems. What began as serendipitous observations and information sharing evolved into a deliberate use of ISS as a boundary spanner across various microsystems of the organization. This deliberate shift affected how we primed microsystems for ISS, how we conducted ISS, how we debriefed and how we delivered written evaluations of the ISS outcomes. This level of collaboration would not be possible without the ability to rigorously evaluate actual clinical processes across multiple clinical settings.
The overall goal of this course is for learners to deliberately use ISS as a boundary spanner in their own organization. During this course we will introduce social networking theory and the roles of brokers-particularly boundary spanners. We will engage participants in identifying how ISS could be a boundary spanner in their own organizations. We will discuss how we modified our usual ISS practices to deliberately act as boundary spanners. Finally we will discuss the organizational value of ISS as a boundary spanner.