HealtH Matters 113
DeVelopMent
SIMUlATOR DEVElOPED TO
ASSESS DOCTORS’ TECHNICAl
PERfORMANCE
A Consultant Anaesthetist at Cork University Hospital (CUH) is leading the development of a novel form of
assessment of doctors’ procedural skills. The new system uses simulation technology to provide detailed,
personalised feedback as doctors learn the procedure spinal anaesthesia.
‘MedCaP’ (Medical Competence learn and are assessed in their performance ways in which Irish doctors monitor their
assessment Procedure) is an innovative of technical skills. By providing ‘intelligent’ performance. spinal anaesthesia was
form of competence assessment for and detailed feedback to learners as they selected as the sample procedure for study
doctors, which uses haptic technology practice a procedure in a simulated setting, because it contains many of the elements
(accurately recreates the touch and feel a footprint of their competence is created. common to other procedures. the
of surgical procedures) and ‘competence this will provide him/her with a detailed principles employed in developing this
based knowledge space theory’ (applies map to future learning. With practice over procedure could be extrapolated to creating
mathematical formulae to each step in a time, the learner progressively focuses similar assessment tools for other medical
procedure) to assess the performance. on areas of weakness accelerating his/ procedural skills. It is also timely as it takes
the MedCaP research team is led by her progress up the learning curve. this into account the fact that 2006 saw a
Professor George Shorten, Department of substantial experience can be acquired change in the Medical Practitioners act in
anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine before a learner undertakes the procedure Ireland, which now stipulates that doctors
at CUH and UCC and comprises members on a patient,” he added. have a statutory obligation to undergo
from the University of Graz, Austria, the the challenge in developing such ongoing competence assessment
Interaction Design Centre, University of a procedure lies in defining each skill throughout their career.
limerick, University of Pecs, Hungary while taking account of the many factors the MedCaP team look to progress
and Medic Vision, a UK-based company which influence doctors’ learning and their work by further refining the system
developing simulators for medicine. the performance. these include cognitive, extending it to similar procedures and
project is funded through the eU leonardo motor, communication, and human (for introducing it to medical training bodies.
da Vinci lifelong learning Programme. example; fatigue, anxiety and fear) factors. already MedCaP is being used in parallel
Current training in such procedures the project is particularly relevant to Ireland, with existing assessments by trainees on
usually entails theoretical learning, as the Medical Council engages with the the Irish southern regional anaesthetic
observation and practice under supervision. Irish medical training bodies to improve the training scheme.
the work of the MedCaP research team is
part of a worldwide move to competence-
based training and assessment for
healthcare professionals. MedCaP
represents the first attempt to apply this
innovative approach to the world of medical
learning.
Professor shorten said, “In simple + Professor
terms, the newly developed haptic
George Shorten,
simulator recreates the same tensions and
Department of
anaesthesia and
sensations felt by the practitioner when
Intensive Care
they insert a needle into the patient to
Medicine at Cork
administer a spinal anaesthetic. throughout University Hospital
the procedure, MedCaP not only gives
who is leading
rapid audio and visual feedback but also
the development
of a novel form
assesses the doctor’s performance.”
of assessment of
“this has the potential to improve the
doctors' procedural
way that medical students and doctors skills.
HM Iss6.1 p71-128.indd 113 12/03/2010 15:28:43
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