Patient Safety Advocate Cameron Ricks, MD RN

Dr. Cameron Ricks is an anesthesiologist and is the Medical Director of the Medical Education Simulation Center at UC Irvine. He is a clinical instructor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care. He is also a former critical care registered nurse. His special interest is in training of health care teams using simulation, ACLS simulation courses and simulation for EMS and nurses.

Cameron Ricks (centre).

Dr. Ricks’ nomination stated: “Dr. Ricks isan associate professor at UC Irvine Anesthesia Department and the founder ofSimRated which uses simulation to show us how to learn, apply the knowledge topractice and records us doing the procedure for competency. We then get expertfeedback along with a pass/fail. After that, we must show that we can do theskill three times and have an attending sign off on the procedures. Only thenare we deemed competent to do the skill on our own. I am thankful that thedepartment uses this, it makes me feel more confident and comfortable with theprocedures and overall I think having all the residents go through this processmakes us better physicians and clinicians. Props to SimRated, Dr. Ricks, and UCIrvine Anesthesia dept!”

Dr. Ricks founded SimRated with the goal ofimproving medical procedure competency through the use of simulation-basedassessment and tracking. As Medical Director, Dr. Ricks saw an opportunity tocreate an online platform to facilitate simulation-based education andassessment, improve transparency, and decrease the educator’s workload. KeithBeaulieu (CFO) and Michael Ma (CTO) joined the team in 2017 as foundingmembers.

ThePath to Procedural Excellence

SimRated’s path to procedural excellencecan be summarized in three steps: Learn about the procedure; learn how to dothe procedure; and demonstrate procedure in the clinical environment

SimRated is an all-in-one training solutionthat specializes in medical procedures. Built by clinicians, simulationexperts, and researchers in healthcare it provides a turnkey solution. Theonline curriculum includes videos of procedures being taught by expertclinicians and validated critical action checklists.

Trainees are evaluated in three steps whichinclude an online exam based on provided coursework, recorded simulationperformance graded by expert SimRated raters, and clinical performance signedoff by supervising practitioners.

Trainees can track their performance ateach step and allows students to learn about medical procedures at their ownpace. This information can also be made accessible to new institutions,accrediting bodies, or employers such as hospitals, medical schools, residencyprograms, technical programs, and nursing schools.

Components of the curriculum includereading material, videos of the procedures being done by expert clinicians, andvalidated critical action checklists. Before moving on to the next step,students are required to pass an online exam. This prepares students to performthe procedure in the simulation environment which is step two in achievingcompetency, and ultimately, the clinical setting if applicable.

Professional rater evaluating learner performance.All images: SimRated.

SimRated curriculum has been developed toinclude simulation practice as a key component to achieving proceduralexcellence. In addition to the online platform, SimRated provides all thenecessary medical simulation equipment for students to get hands-on simulationexperience. After students have completed the online exam in step one, studentswill be required to perform the procedure in the simulation environment.SimRated raters will evaluate performance and provide feedback.

SimRated provides advanced data analyticson student performance to maximize success. Curriculum is monitored to ensurequality and consistency. After passing both the online exam and simulationexam, students will receive a SimRated certificate of completion.

SimRated develops curriculum that spans the entire spectrum of healthcare and is continually adding to their library of courses. They also accepts curriculum from outside institutions that meet SimRated’s educational standards for excellence.

Below are some examples of courses available:

SimRated’s path to procedural excellencecan be summarized in the following three steps:

Results

SimRated has evaluated over 1,500 hours ofsimulation-based exams comprising 350 procedural competencies. Self-reportedconfidence intervals increase, on average, 90% after learners complete aSimRated competency course. 97% of learners report that they would like to usethe SimRated platform to learn other procedures.

FutureProjections

While SimRated is an early stage company,educators and learners continue to express increased interest in the platformand educational methodology. SimRated is applicable for learners ranging fromhigh school students to practicing clinicians. In addition, SimRated is lookingfor opportunities to work with companies to support education. Our YouTubechannel, which will feature our curriculum videos, will be going live in early2019.

ImprovedPatient and Provider Outcomes

SimRated benefits providers by allowing the learner to acquire the information at their own pace, receive quantitative and narrative feedback on their simulation-based performance from trained clinical raters, and access procedural videos and checklists for just in time review. The education and assessment of learners is both standardized and continually monitored by SimRated’s internal reliability and validity metrics. SimRated also allows learners to prove their competency to supervising clinicians, hospitals or institutions. SimRated’s educational methodology leads to improved education, assessment, and ultimately better trained learners. We believe this will lead to better patient outcomes and greater clinician confidence.

Originally published in Issue 1, 2019 of MT Magazine.