The use of TEE simulation in teaching basic echocardiography skills to senior anesthesiology residents.

OBJECTIVE: The authors evaluated the educational benefits of using a first-generation HeartWorks simulator to teach senior anesthesiology residents basic echocardiography skills.

DESIGN: Prospective observational study.

SETTING: A single academic medical center (teaching hospital).

PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-seven senior (fourth-year) anesthesiology residents participated in this study.

INTERVENTIONS: Groups of 3 senior anesthesiology residents participated in a single 3-hour tutorial in the simulation laboratory in the authors' institution during their cardiothoracic anesthesiology rotation. A cardiothoracic anesthesiology faculty member demonstrated the use of the transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) simulator and instructed the residents on obtaining standard TEE views of normal anatomy.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Prior to the laboratory session, the residents took an online multiple-choice pretest with 25 questions related to safety, probe manipulation, clinical application, and pathology, which was accompanied by echo images of normal cardiac anatomy and video clips of pathology. Three to four weeks after the TEE tutorial, the residents completed an online post-test and evaluation of the teaching session. There was a statistically significant increase in knowledge of normal echocardiographic anatomy (p = 0.04), with an average improvement in normal echocardiographic anatomy scores of 15%.

CONCLUSIONS: Virtual reality TEE simulation technology was endorsed strongly by residents, produced a statistically significant improvement in knowledge of normal echocardiographic anatomy, and could be effective for teaching basic echocardiography to anesthesiology residents.