Training Safer Trauma Surgeons: Introducing Multimodal Multimedia Multidisciplinary Distributive Interactive Simulation

The MSk Lab at Imperial College London is conducting cutting
edge research in educational technology. The department consists of
inter-disciplinary team members in a colossal collaborative effort to
improve the quality of training the future generations of trauma and
orthopaedic surgeons within the UK and beyond. We offer a plethora
of courses. This is the first time that intramedullary femoral nailing
can be safely practiced within a distributive interactive simulation
scenario using actual surgical instrumentation in an immersive
clinical setting with the Imperial inflatable theatre igloo and without
the need of fluoroscopic radiation. The participant is put into a typical
scenario and must demonstrate their technical competency while
exercising non- technical skills including communication, leadership,
teamwork and inter-personal skills with the rest of the team while
also managing realistic distractions such managing intra-operative
complications with the simulated patient, performing resuscitation,
dealing with inexperienced team members and staying focussed in a
noisy environment. The participant is also exposed to virtual reality
dynamic hip screw surgery which the department has validated in
international peer-reviewed journals. Seventeen real time objective
performance metrics can help the participant to practise technical
skills including the only clinically validated outcome, namely the tipapex
distance (and cut-out). Finally the participant rotates around
four trauma viva stations with real radiographs and clinical cases
to discuss optimal management options as well as a recap on basic
sciences and biomechanical principles. This course has been running
for five years successfully and has received very positive feedback
from participants and the faculty.