Pediatric Emergency Medicine Disaster Simulation Curriculum: The 5-Minute Trauma Assessment for Pediatric Residents (TRAP-5)

Introduction: Pediatric trauma management is a high-stress, high-risk, low-frequency event, and exposure through simulation can help identify and address knowledge gaps. Pediatric residents are likely to provide care for children with traumatic injuries, and it is important they are skilled in performing a rapid trauma assessment.

Methods: We developed a simulation-based rapid pediatric trauma assessment curriculum for pediatric residents in the setting of a mass casualty disaster. The patients were 5-year-olds portrayed by mannequins with varying injuries including intracranial hemorrhage, solid organ injury, and open extremity fractures. Critical actions included assigning roles, completing primary assessment within 2 minutes, and giving summary statement and management priorities within 5 minutes using clear communication techniques. We created a badge-sized reference card as well as scenario-specific debriefing tools to facilitate assessment and discussion of learning objectives following the simulation.

Results: We conducted two sessions with a total of 49 participants. The case was rated as highly relevant (session 1, m = 4.7; session 2, m = 4.9) and realistic (session 1, m = 4.8; session 2, m = 4.4) by participants on a 5-point Likert scale. During the two sessions participants completed the primary survey in an average of 2.46 and 2.29 minutes, respectively, and the secondary survey with summary statement in an average of 5.08 and 4.27 minutes, respectively.

Discussion: This educational resource supports the setup, production, and debriefing of a low-fidelity simulation focused on the pediatric trauma assessment for the novice learner. Also included are educational reference materials and a participant evaluation form.