Poster Winners: 2017 ASPE Conference
Compiled by: Todd Lash

Each year two categories of posters, research and innovation, are eligible for competition and recognition during the conference. Eligible posters are judged using criteria based on Glassick criteria for scholarship (Glassick CE et al, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1997) and first-place and honorable mention prizes are awarded for each category. Details regarding the winning posters, as provided along with all poster submissions on the conference website, follow below. Congratulations to the winners!

Innovation – 1^st Prize: A3 Collaboration Between a Medical School and a Community College to Deliver an Ultrasound Enriched Curriculum. Felicia Myrna Toreno, Barry J Knapp, Donald Byars, Craig W Goodmurphy, Mark W Scerbo, Sarah J Shaves, &Frank A Lattanzio

Introduction:Our medical School is currently in the fifth year of creating a four year vertical Ultrasound enhanced curriculum. During initial planning the planning committee chair reached out to the local community college. The community college houses a well-established Diagnostic Medical Sonography program with capable faculty and leadership interested in pursuing a collaborative relationship with our medical school.

Project Description:Although few medical schools reach out to local sonography programs, they can be a source of both equipment for newly established programs as well as a source for teaching assistants with a good, solid working knowledge of sonography techniques.

Outcomes:Conference Members will see the benefits of inter-institutional collaboration through the stated outcomes between the two institutions. These include:

1. The community college was able to provide portable, state-of-art Ultrasound systems for use in medical school student training sessions as our medical school established their own internal resources.
2. A medical school affiliated physician now serves as an active medical advisor to the community college sonography program and gives regular lectures to the Ultrasound students.
3. Community College faculty were all awarded adjunct faculty status at the medical school.
4. There is an increased awareness of sonographers and their advanced skill set by medical students and medical faculty.
5. There is an increased sense of confidence in the community college students that is gained by working with the staff physicians, residents, fellows, and medical students, and a growing awareness nationally that sonographers and sonography students are often overlooked as an important resource for local medical schools.

Conclusions / Discussion Overview:Our medical school has established a beneficial collaboration with a local community college. The medical students and community college students make positive comments about working together. There are important considerations when establishing a collaborative partnership, but many community colleges may be able to help medical schools overcome common roadblocks when adding Ultrasound components into their curriculum.

Innovation – Honorable Mention: B2 Videoconferencing: Cross-campus Training of SPs. Erica Dzuba, Yolette Brant, &Julie Ktytor

Introduction:During a period of limited SP trainers and human resources, our Program used an alternative method to train our standardized patients for weekly clinical skills sessions. In order to facilitate SP training, videoconference sessions were organized so a maximum of 10 standardized patients could be trained in one session. The videoconference strategies were already used regularly between these two campuses for distance education and administrative meetings. This training strategy aimed to provide information on the feasibility and effectiveness of SP training using this medium.

Project Description:Forty standardized patients were trained via videoconference over a six week period. The SPs were being trained for clinical skills sessions for a six week gastrointestinal module for first year medical students. Training sessions, held one week before actual encounters, included review of case history, physical examination and feedback. All SPs were able to participate in round-robin portrayals during the training session. For the sessions that included a physical examination, SPs were provided with additional resources. Included in the training was an abdominal image with areas of pain/discomfort highlighted and notes regarding when to exhibit findings during the physical examination.

Outcomes:Standardized patients were emailed a Doodle poll immediately following their clinical skills encounters. SPs were asked a variety of areas to rate, including the quality of training versus training in person, quality of the videoconference medium, and the effectiveness of the training. Thirty-four percent of the SPs “strongly agreed” that they were trained effectively, while 66% “agreed” with this statement. In terms of receiving the same quality of training versus training in person, 44% “agreed” with this statement, while 44% “disagreed”.

Conclusions / Discussion Overview:It was generally perceived from the comments received and reviewing the poll that the standardized patients felt that the videoconference training adequately accomplished the tasks of preparing the SPs for their encounters. Our Program feels that videoconference training, while it does not replace face-to-face training, is an excellent back-up for those times when staff resources are limited.

Research – 1^st Prize: F4 Results of the 2016 ASPE Grants and Research Committee Standardized Patient Educator (SPE) Practice Analysis. Cate F Nicholas and Alison K Howe

Introduction:In 2012, Society for Simulation in Health Care (SSH) in collaboration with the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE) and other simulation organizations conducted a practice analysis with their members by online survey. The survey was developed by an expert simulation educator panel and a professional certification company. The practice analysis was the first step of developing the SSH Certification Examination for Certified Health Care Educators in Simulation (CHSE©). Unfortunately, the response from the SP educators was low and may not fully represent the SP educator community job functions. In an attempt to more fully describe the role of the SPE, ASPE G&R Committee resurveyed the SPE community by adapting the 2012 SSH Survey. The goal is to support the professional identity development for new SP Educators and to contribute to the community of practice of SPEs.

Project Description: SSH gave permission to re-administer the 2012 SSH Survey and the survey was adapted to the SPE. UVM IRB deemed the research as exempt. Study was announced at the ASPE 2015 Conference.Participants: any individual who identified as an SPE. Dissemination of survey: ASPE membership list, SP-list Serve, UK, European, Australian and Asian SPE Associations,Snowball sampling. Survey open from 06/27/16-10/31/16

Outcomes:We received less than 200 responses from an approximate total of 2500 potential respondents. As we had poor response rate, we kept the survey open until 10/31/2016. As the survey just closed, results are pending. They will be available for poster presentation ASPE 2017

Conclusions / Discussion Overview:We hope the results will expand the understanding of the day to day work of the SPE.

Research – Honorable Mention: D3 Improving Standardized Patient Performance Accuracy: Does Adding Group Training Sessions Enhance Script Adherence Above and Beyond the Use of Pre-Event “Quizzes”?Kathleen M. Young, Paula G. Rutledge, &Deborah Newell

Introduction:Accurate standardized patient (SP) portrayal of case content is a vital contributor to the validity of clinical skills assessments (CSAs). The current intervention examined if initiating pre-CSA quizzes for SPs would decrease SP performance errors and if providing group training sessions in addition to quizzes would result in even greater SP performance improvement.

Project Description:Ten-item quizzes covering case content were developed for 11 SP cases being used for third-year medical student CSAs. SPs began taking and reviewing the quizzes prior to CSAs to refresh themselves with key content from the cases; for 6 of these cases, pre-CSA quizzes were initiated following an in-depth group training session for each case. Raters evaluated SP performance accuracy via recordings of CSA encounters both before and after the quizzes and group trainings were implemented, using SP evaluation forms comprised of case content checklists. Script adherence was calculated as the number of errors identified on the SP evaluation form. Paired-samples t-tests were used to determine if quizzes only and quizzes plus training decreased the number of SP performance errors, and an independent-samples t-test was used to determine if quizzes plus training resulted in a greater improvement in SP performance accuracy than quizzes alone.

Outcomes:Forty pairs of pre- and post-intervention encounters were evaluated (19 quiz-only, 21 quiz + training). Performance errors decreased following training plus quiz implementation, t(20) = 1.52, p<.05, as well as following quiz implementation alone, t(18) = 3.31, p<.01. Pre- to post-improvements were similar for both the quiz-only and training plus quiz interventions, t(38) = .793, p=.432.

Conclusions / Discussion Overview:In-depth group training for SP cases did not enhance improvement of script adherence above and beyond implementing pre-CSA quizzes to refresh script content with SPs. More research is needed to understand effective strategies for improving accuracy of SP case portrayal.

Publications Committee Mission:“To bring high quality reporting of current research, trends, techniques and information regarding SP methodology and other relevant industry articles to the attention of the membership through the web-based ASPE eNews blog.”