Stroke training of prehospital providers: an example of simulation-enhanced blended learning and evaluation

Since appropriate treatment of patients in the first few hours of ischemic stroke may decrease the risk of long-term disability, prehospital providers should recognize, assess, manage and communicate about stroke patients in an effective and time-efficient manner. This requires the instruction and evaluation of a wide range of competencies including clinical skills, patient investigation and management and communication skills. The authors developed and assessed the effectiveness of a simulation-enhanced stroke course that incorporates several different learning strategies to evaluate competencies in the care of acute stroke patients. The one-day, interactive, emergency stroke course features a simulation-enhanced, blended-learning approach that includes didactic lectures, tabletop exercises, and focused-examination training and small-group sessions led by paramedic instructors as standardized patients portraying five key neurological syndromes. From January to October 2000, 345 learners were assessed usi...