Training tip:  
IV insertion can be daunting and challenging for learners. Consider adopting components of the deliberate practice and mastery learning model to help learners perfect this psychomotor skill. Deliberate practice involves giving learners a distinct goal to accomplish; immediate feedback on their performance; and plenty of time for repetition to improve performance. Mastery learning involves using deliberate practice along with testing that uses set criteria to define a specific passing standard that implies mastery of the task being learned.⁵

AHA recommends combining repetition with individualized feedback based on assessments; assigning specific exercises to address areas for improvement; and providing learners with enough time to achieve the minimum passing standard.⁶

Paired with an IV arm task trainer or manikin with IV arm, this approach can help raise learner competence to an expert level. 

Why:  
According to the Resuscitation Education Science section of the 2020 Guidelines, incorporating a deliberate practice and mastery learning model may be considered for improving skill acquisition and performance.⁷ Evidence indicates that the model improves multiple learning outcomes when incorporated as part of BLS or ACLS courses.⁸

Training tip: 
Ensure your learners are contributing to the chances of achieving successful defibrillation. Run some drills and scenarios that require your learners to maximize time on the chest and perform quality compressions – in spite of whatever dynamics and variables the team encounters. This will provide the opportunity to practice individual skills as well as teamwork and communication. Consider gamifying these experiences with a competition: use CPR feedback technology to measure and score learners on their individual and team performance. Debriefing the experiences from start to finish will help identify areas for improvement.    

Why:  
According to the Resuscitation Education Science section of the 2020 Guidelines, teamwork training and gamified learning are opportunities to enhance resuscitation training and may improve learning outcomes.¹³ Studies that evaluated the effect of team and leadership training as part of ACLS training found a positive impact on provider skills during simulated and real cardiac arrests. Improvements were seen in 1 or more aspects of clinical task performance during simulated events – including time to initiation of CPR and defibrillation.¹⁴ Studies examining the effect of gamified learning showed an improvement in knowledge acquisition, knowledge retention, and CPR skills.¹⁵

Training tip:  
Regardless of your position on increased ventilations, it’s important to be reinforcing the message now. Few events are as stressful for providers as a pediatric patient experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest. In situ training, or training that occurs in the actual clinical environment, provides a more realistic experience. Running an in situ scenario can help learners feel more prepared by giving them the opportunity to practice the required ventilation rate in the same setting in which they’ll have to perform it. Consider using infant and child manikins that provide quality feedback, as well as tools to facilitate high-performance team training, to create a rich and well-rounded training opportunity.  
 
Why:
According to the Resuscitation Education Science section of the 2020 Guidelines, it is reasonable to use in-situ simulation-based resuscitation education in addition to traditional training.¹⁸ Recent evidence indicates that when combined with other educational strategies, in-situ training has a positive impact on learning outcomes, performance change in the real clinical environment, and even patient outcomes.¹⁹