525 - A Novel Bootcamp Improves Trainee Preparedness by Integrating Medical and Communication Skills Training

Poster Number: 525
Publication Number: 525.83

Background: The delivery of high-quality intensive care requires both expert medical care and communication. Due to varying constraints, few fellowship programs offer formalized training in communication skills. When offered, it often occurs apart from clinical care simulations, which may leave fellows unprepared in real-world situations in which delivering difficult news and providing intensive medical care are required simultaneously.

Objective: To assess opportunities for communication feedback and improve neonatal-perinatal medicine (NPM) fellow clinical and communication skills through participation in a novel, integrated bootcamp.

Design/Methods: “LaunchPad” was a full-day bootcamp created for PGY5 and PGY6 NPM fellows in the New York metropolitan region. The curriculum included communication didactics and 4 scenarios with a medical simulation followed by a communication portion. The communication objectives were to convey serious news or discuss goals of care conversations with standardized patients. Pre-, post-, and 6-month follow-up surveys were administered to faculty facilitators and fellow participants. Survey questions were analyzed with descriptive statistics.

Results: 88 fellows (46 PGY5, 42 PGY6) from 8 NPM programs attended LaunchPad in 2022 and 2023 (Table 1). Pre-survey completion rates were 87% (PGY5) and 86% (PGY6). 58% of fellows reported “always” or “often” being expected to deliver serious news to families; 68% reported being accompanied by an attending during these conversations. Fewer fellows (32%) reported “always” or “often” receiving feedback on communication. Fellow experiences with serious news conversations during their training is shown in Table 2. Immediately after participation in LaunchPad, fellows reported improved confidence and preparedness for having serious news/goals of care conversations (Table 3). Most fellows (89%) found pairing communication and medical simulation to be “extremely helpful”. Faculty facilitators reported that LaunchPad communication didactics and communication simulations filled a gap in their curriculum (100% and 98%, respectively). In a six-month follow up survey (2022), 73% of respondents reported using the communication and clinical skills learned during LaunchPad on a “daily” or “almost daily” basis.

Conclusion(s): LaunchPad led to improved self-assessed communication skills in PGY5 and PGY6 NPM fellows. Regional bootcamps are a feasible and effective way to fill gaps in individual NPM fellowship curriculums and integrate communication and clinical skills training, both of which are crucial to caring for critically ill infants and their families.