Project Background

Brief history of workshops

The PECS workshops have been offered to pediatric fellows at the University of Minnesota since 2018. We currently invite fellows from neonatology, cardiology, intensive care, hematology/oncology, bone marrow transplant and hospitalist medicine to participate during the 1st and, if applicable, 3rd years of their training. The PECS workshop provides a safe place for practicing EOL care in a combination of immersive simulation and skills stations.

Our projects would not be possible without the generous support from the following over time:

Zoya fund

University of Minnesota Pediatric Fellowship Directors

University of Minnesota Medical School internal grants

Challenges

Getting buy-in for a new medical education event can be a challenge. Aligning goals, schedules, staff, equipment, space, and funding to expand fellowship curricula via an interprofessional workshop can seem insurmountable. Despite having a shared vision with a very motivated and dedicated team when we piloted our first PECS workshop, we were still faced with numerous obstacles. Some of the challenges we expected like the lack of competency metrics and case materials. There were also surprise technology hiccups and unforeseen logistics. But along the way, through an iterative process, we discovered opportunities within our academic institution to partner and collaborate. If you experience roadblocks, consider the following types of resources that might be available within your organization:

· Simulation center experts

· Learning innovation specialists (from libraries to health science labs)

· Interprofessional education working groups

· Psychometricians

· Office of Information Technology (may have devices and software to support learning experiences)

· Grants and funding sources within different departments

· Support from other graduate programs (including faculty, staff, students, and resources) such as education, instructional design, chaplaincy, and theater

COVID-19 Pandemic

We successfully pivoted our PECS workshops to a hybrid model of instruction for the 2020-21 academic year. Fellows participated in person at our simulation center. Facilitators and simulation staff were present as a combination of in-person and virtual. Standardized patients were all virtual in accordance with M Sim restrictions; thus SP cases were pivoted for this delivery. Skills stations were conducted in-person. Both participants and facilitators reported curricular delivery was as effective as the original in-person workshop.