In-situ Simulation in the Congenital Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (ccicu): A Quality Improvement Initiative

Introduction/Background. With the now emerging adult congenital heart disease population, we have established a Congenital Cardiac ICU (CCICU) with majority pediatric and some adult congenital heart disease population in an urban tertiary care institution. With this mixed population, in-situ simulation provides a feasible platform for improvement in team dynamics. Based on crisis resource management and resilience engineering from the aviation industry we built this on the principle of arrest in CCICU patient being an irregular threat; one that could be anticipated and imagined but still rare. The response to this threat requires an improvisation of a routine response. Critical care teams perform many activities where effective communication is crucial for ensuring patient safety …