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Introduction: Resuscitative clinician-performed transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a relatively new ultrasound application, however the optimal teaching methods have not been determined. Previous studies have demonstrated that random practice (RP), which increases the variability of training, may improve learning of procedural skills compared with blocked practice (BP). We compared RP and BP for teaching a resuscitative TEE protocol to emergency medicine residents using a simulator. Methods: We recruited emergency medicine residents with no prior TEE experience from a university-affiliated hospital. Participants completed a questionnaire and baseline skill assessment on a simulator, then were randomized to one of two groups. The BP group completed 10 repetitions of a fixed 5-view TEE sequence with instructor feedback, while the RP group completed 10 different random 5-view TEE sequences with feedback. Participants completed a simulation-based performance assessment immediately, and a transfer test consisting of a simulated patient encounter 1-2 weeks after training. Ultrasound images and transducer motion metrics were captured by the simulator for blinded analysis. Our primary outcome was the percentage of successful views on the transfer test, and secondary outcomes included participants confidence level, image quality, percentage of correct diagnoses, and efficiency of movement. We compared all scores using two-tailed, independent samples t-tests. Results: 22 participants completed the study (11 in the RP group, 11 in the BP group). There were no significant baseline differences between the groups. The BP group had a higher rate of successful views compared with the RP group on the transfer test (92.7% vs 80.9%, p=0.02). While not statistically significant, the BP group had higher image quality on a 5-point scale (3.2 vs 2.9, p=0.09), and fewer probe accelerations (297 vs 403, p=0.09). The groups did not differ in rate of correct diagnoses (77.3% vs 72.7%, p=0.73), confidence level on a 10-point scale (6.2 vs 6.2, p=1.0), or scan time (173 vs 199 seconds, p=0.28). Conclusion: Emergency medicine residents randomized to BP had a higher success rate on a transfer test, compared to RP when learning resuscitative TEE using a simulator. We consider this pilot work that can inform future studies in both simulation and real clinical settings.
