Residents Practice Life-Saving Skills on “Cosmo”
“Code Blue!” Most people have heard the term countless times on television dramas about hospitals and doctors, usually indicating a patient has gone into cardiac arrest. Because internal medicine residents are the first to respond to cardiac arrests at Northwestern-affiliated hospitals, Diane B. Wayne, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine and director of the internal medicine residency program, has launched a project to help them practice their skills in a controlled environment.
In cooperation with Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s (NMH) Human Simulator Safety Project, Dr. Wayne and the internal medicine residents are using “Cosmo,” a computerized robot that simulates human physiological and anatomical responses, to practice advanced cardiac life support protocols. Says Dr. Wayne, “This is a year-long project involving second-year internal medicine residents. Each resident will use the simulator seven times during this period. Simultaneously, we will collect data on the residents’ confidence in caring for patients with these conditions as the year progresses.”
Cosmo “works” in the Department of Anesthesiology’s Patient Safety Simulator Center in NMH’s Galter Pavilion. The study is supported by funds NMH received from the Illinois Department of Public Aid through the Excellence in Academic Medicine Act.
Dr. Wayne’s collaborators on the project are John E. Butter, MD, assistant professor of medicine and associate director of the internal medicine residency program; Lee Lindquist, MD, instructor in medicine; William C. McGaghie, PhD, professor of medical education; Viva Jo Siddall, CCRC, MS, RCP, RRT, assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology and education director of the simulator center; and Leonard D. Wade, MS, assistant professor of anesthesiology and technical director of the simulator center.
Notes Dr. Wayne, “The residents have enjoyed the project thus far and feel that it has helped them prepare for clinical situations.”