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Proficiency based progression training improves clinical communication
Dr Dorothy Breen and colleagues have just published an important research article in the BMJ Open describing how proficiency based progression training improves clinical communication. Simulation-based training is being increasingly deployed for both technical and non-technical skill acquisition in healthcare with the aim of reducing medical error and patient harm. There is a need for an evidence-based approach to such training to ensure that the resources utilised can reliably deliver a quantifiable improved skill set rather than just an enhanced educational experience. Proficiency-based progression (PBP) training is a form of outcomes-based training that involves training individuals to achieve a proficiency benchmark against a set of clearly defined objective metrics. It has been robustly shown to improve the performance of individuals undertaking technical procedures metrics. PBP methodology has not previously been applied to simulation-based training for non-technical skills yet communication failures are a significant source of medical error and preventable adverse events equal if not greater than errors due to lack of technical skill. This study shows the effect of such training on communication for the Deteriorating Patient.