COVID-19 Disaster: A Simulation Case for Emergency Medicine Physicians

This is a simulation case intended to train emergency medicine attending and resident physicians for treating multiple patients with suspected COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges for healthcare systems. Emergency departments were especially affected, as patients presented undifferentiated to emergency departments. Many complex factors had to be considered when treating such patients. Critical decision needed to be made to decide which patients need a formal medical evaluation, to choose which type of PPE is necessary, to determine who needs to be tested and what treatments are most appropriate for patients with COVID-19. A critical adjunct in the management of COVID-19 patients involved the use of point-of-care ultrasound in COVID-19. This simulation case is intended to prepare the emergency medicine physician to manage multiple patients who may have COVID-19 and who present on a spectrum of acuities. The simulation case involves four patients - two require admission and two do not require a formal medical screening exam. The learners must intubate one patient using airborne precautions, and they must also use point-of-care ultrasound. While no simulation case can cover all possible scenarios, this simulation case covers a spectrum of patient presentations as well as key concepts relative to COVID-19. Seven learners completed the simulation case in four separate sessions. All learners found that this simulation case increased their preparedness for a pandemic, enhanced their ability to identify various presentations of COVID-19, and increased their knowledge of management of COVID-19 cases and proper PPE usage.