MP24: The University of Ottawa's Department of Emergency Medicine pre-internship boot camp: a descriptive review

Abstract

Innovation Concept: Emergency Medicine (EM) residency programs in Canada have transitioned to competency based medical education and the first stage of the curriculum focuses on standardizing learner competency. Pre-internship boot camps provide a focused opportunity to assist with this standardization prior to residency training. The objective of this descriptive review was to describe our institution's EM pre-internship boot camp in the context of current literature and to summarize the state of EM boot camp curricula across all reported EM residency programs. Methods: The description of our two-day boot camp included its curriculum design, required preparation and resources, and a detailed timeline of each day's events. To compare our boot camp to current literature, a comprehensive search of both primary and gray literature was performed. Curriculum, Tool or Material: Our institution's boot camp is two days of teaching focused on clinical knowledge and procedural competency, with a large component centered on simulation. Day one consisted of an introduction to the boot camp, a review of crisis resource management principles and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) algorithms, ACLS simulation sessions, and small group skill sessions on common emergency department procedures. Day two contained a point of care ultra sound lecture, an ultrasound guided central venous catheterization session, pigtail and chest tube insertion sessions, and high-fidelity simulation cases. In comparison to the other pre-internship boot camps that were identified in the literature, our boot camp offers a unique focus and format. Conclusion: This review is the first to report on an EM-specific boot camp at a non-American institution, and it provides a framework for the development and refinement of pre-internship EM boot camps at other universities.