Doctors-in-training put their life-saving skills to the test in a head-to-head competition in Orlando.
A team of four University of Arizona emergency medicine residents recently participated in the Emergency Medicine Resident Association’s SIMWars competition at the May 2017 SAEM national conference in Orlando. The resident competition is held biannually at the SAEM national conference in May and the ACEP national conference in October.
It was the second year the UA has competed in SIMWars, a single-elimination tournament in which resident teams compete against each other in simulated patient scenarios. Each team performs on the national stage in front of a live audience of their peers and is judged by academic leaders in emergency medicine and simulation education. Teams are rated on their medical knowledge, procedural competence and ability to work together cohesively. Cases are medically challenging, requiring decisive, on-the-spot action and often involve distracting actors that really bring out a team’s true skill.
Led by their coach, Vivienne Ng, MD, MPH, director of emergency medicine simulation, the team consisted of residents Adam Field, MD, PGY-I; John Hagenberg, MD, PGY-II; Miguel Sandoval, MD, PGY-II; and Sara Paradise, MD, PGY-III. Jennifer Plitt, MD, the department’s first medical simulation fellow, also helped coach the team.
“The team sailed through round one against LSU New Orleans, and beat out UNC Chapel Hill during round two. But we just barely lost to NYU, the competition champion, in the final round,” said Dr. Ng. “It was a close call. We keep getting better after every competition.”