Commercialization of an Online Training Protocol for Moderate Sedation Education

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Applied Medical Visualizations (Medvis) proposes to create an interactive, World Wide Web based application for training providers of moderate sedation. The creation of a Web based training tool will allow providers of moderate sedation access to a continuously available and comprehensive source of reference material and instruction. As part of the online reference material, a drug modeling engine will be available to the user to visually demonstrate the known time course and effect information of the drugs commonly used to induce moderate sedation. The effectiveness of the multimedia training application will be tested using a competency pre and posttest and in a high fidelity patient simulator. An iterative design process will be employed that will ensure the information contained in the interactive multimedia Web based application is a more effective in training moderate sedation providers than current didactic lectures and seminars. This Phase I application contains four specific aims that will demonstrate the efficacy of the Web based training application. 1.) Encapsulate the knowledge-base required for safe administration of moderate sedation - Medvis will work with domain experts to define proper teaching points and guidelines for the moderate sedation course. 2.) Develop a prototype outline for the moderate sedation course - The outline will delineate course materials into broad categories or course modules 3.) Implement three prototype modules for the course - The prototype course modules (The Continuum of Sedation, Drug Pharmacology, and Airway Management) will be implemented using interactive Flash components. The modules will be made available as software over the World Wide Web. 4.) Evaluate the effectiveness of the course - A 2-tiered approach of evaluation will be used. First, competency based paper and pencil testing will be administered before and after training. Second, situational awareness, performance and competency will be evaluated during 4 simulated scenarios. Results will be compared between those who have received the web-based course and those who receive standard didactic course material.