2026 Critical Care Congress Skip to main content
2026 Critical Care Congress Main banner
Final Program


Advance Program
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Session Icons
Thought Leader Session
Thought Leader Session
Guidelines Session
Guidelines Session
Aging Adult Track
Aging Adult Track
Additional Registration Fee
Additional Registration Fee

Research Snapshot Theater: Resuscitation, Pediatric I

Simulation and Debriefing Improve Resident Performance in Pediatric Code Simulations

Tuesday, March 24, 2026
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Central Time
Location: Connections Central - RST 18
  • YX

    Yongmin Xu, MD

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose.

  • HC

    Harshal Chauhan, MD

    Resident physician
    Mercy St. Vincent Medical center

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • AG

    Amanda Gutek, N/A

    Research Coordinator
    Mercy St. Vincent Medical center

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • NM

    Nina Ma, MD

    Assistant Professor - Practice
    Nationwide Children's Hospital in Toledo / The Ohio State University

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • AD

    Alexander Dzurik, MD

    Physician
    Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • AN

    Aileen Newmyer, MD

    Physician
    Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • CK

    Courtney Keel, MD

    Physician
    Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • AK

    AnaMaria C. Koehl, MD

    PICU intensivist
    Nationwide Children's Hospital in Toledo

    Disclosure information not submitted.

Introduction:

Background: Pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCA) require rapid, high-stakes decision-making, yet residents often have limited exposure to real-world resuscitations. Although PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) training remains an indispensable foundation for pediatric resuscitation, proficiency can decline over time without periodic reinforcement. High-fidelity simulation offers a promising strategy to sustain and reinforce these skills, yet its effect on long-term performance in residency programs requires further investigation.

Objective: To assess whether simulation-based training with individualized debriefing improves pediatric and emergency medicine (EM) residents’ resuscitation performance in simulated cardiopulmonary arrests (sCPAs).


Methods:

Methods: A prospective observational study included 26 residents (10 pediatric, 16 EM) at a tertiary care academic hospital. Residents completed a structured simulation session with individualized debriefing. Performance metrics, including time to defibrillation, epinephrine administration, and CPR quality, were measured pre- and post-debriefing.


Results:

Results: Residents’ overall number of achieved performance indicators rose significantly from a mean of 6.4 to 9.9 out of 12 (p < 0.001). Timely shock delivery within two minutes increased from 69% to 100%, while compression–ventilation ratios (30:2 and 15:2) (p < 0.05) and effective ventilation also improved significantly (p < 0.02). Although differences between pediatric and emergency medicine trainees were partly explained by postgraduate year distribution, both groups benefited from repeated simulation and individualized debriefing.


Conclusions:

Conclusion: Simulation-based training with debriefing significantly improved pediatric resuscitation performance, though knowledge gaps persisted. Increased simulation exposure and refresher training are needed to maintain competency.