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Introduction: Chest tube insertion is a frequent procedure in cases of traumatic pneumothorax, but severe complications can occur if not well performed. Although simulation-based training in chest tube insertion has improved performance, an affordable and realistic model for surgical insertion of a chest tube is lacking., Objective: The objective was to design a model for surgical chest tube insertion that would be realistic, affordable, and transportable and that would reflect all extrathoracic and intrathoracic steps of the procedure., Methods: The model was a task trainer designed by 4 experts in our simulation laboratory combining plastic, electronic, and biologic material. The cost of supplies needed for construction was evaluated. The model was used and tested over 30 months on 56 participants, of whom 44 were surveyed regarding the realism of the model., Results: The model involved a half chest wall (lamb) on a plastic box, connected to a webcam facilitating assessment of the extrathoracic and intrathoracic steps of the procedure, for a cost of €60. Chest tubes, water seal package, and sterile instruments costed €200. All anatomic structures were represented during surgical insertion of chest tube. The demonstration contributed to teaching small groups of up to 8 participants and was reproducible over 30 months of diversely located courses. Anatomic correlation, realism, and learning experience were highly rated by users., Conclusions: This model for surgical chest tube insertion in traumatic pneumothorax was found to be realistic, affordable, and transportable. Furthermore, it allowed comprehensive assessment of the extrathoracic and intrathoracic procedural steps.

Objective: To evaluate the experience, opinions and moral positions of French emergency physicians (EP) who had taken a paediatric university course on parental presence during child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and to compare it with the responses of nurses on their teams., Methods: A questionnaire was sent to 550 EPs who had taken the course during the previous 6 years; the EPs were also asked to give a copy of the questionnaire to nurses on their staff. Data were collected on experience of parental presence during child CPR, opinions on the practice, arguments for and against parental presence, and the moral positions of respondents regarding their perception of life and the sharing of medical/parental power in the decision-making process., Results: 343 responses were analysed, 47% from EPs (29% response rate) and 53% from nurses. 52% of respondents had experienced parental presence during child CPR, but it had been the physician's wish on only 6% of these occasions. Only 17% of respondents favoured parental presence, with EPs (27%) being favourable more often than nurses (12%). The reasons against parental presence were psychological trauma for the parents, risk of interference with medical management, and care team stress. Respondents not in favour of parental presence expressed this view more for medical reasons than for parent-related reasons. The physicians not in favour of parental presence espoused a moral position predicated on medical power., Conclusions: A majority of EPs and nurses were reluctant to have parents present during child CPR. Their attitude involved medical paternalism.

The authors present the concepts of simulation and its utilization in pediatrics. Simulation in medicine is a teaching method that has not yet been developed in Europe and has not spread in pediatrics in France. Motivations for simulation are first and foremost ethical: "Never the first time on patients!" Simulation also provides benefits in teaching communication skills and theoretical concepts. It is an essential means to maintain patient safety by limiting the risk of errors. It covers teaching procedures requiring realistic models such as in teaching communication and crisis resource management. Simulation can also be used for teaching disclosure of bad news, using actors. Simulation skills are acquired during debriefing, when the supervisor acts as a facilitator. Evaluation is mandatory in simulation, dependent on the how realistic the models are and on the performance of a procedure or multidisciplinary team management. Performance can be objectively assessed only with validated tools. Simulation will become a mandatory teaching method in medicine., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

We propose an intraosseous (IO) procedure scale for evaluating the insertion process during simulation. A 12-item scale for assessing the performance of IO insertion into the proximal tibia reproduces all the steps of a manual procedure. The performance of 31 emergency physicians was evaluated with this scale on a mannequin simulating a decompensated shock in a 6-month-old infant.Our IO procedure scale was reliable, with a very high interobserver reproducibility. The application of this scale to procedures yielded higher scores for successful than for unsuccessful procedures (P < 10), a 93.5% success rate, and a mean placement time of 2 minutes 23 seconds. Although designed for a manual insertion of an IO needle during simulation, this scale may be also suitable for use in clinical settings.