Draw & Doodle Simulation: A colorful strategy to prepare medical teams for electronic dance music festival emergencies

Abstract

Educational challenge

Electronic dance music (EDM) festivals – crowded, loud, low-resource environments – pose unique challenges to event medical teams. Simulation can prepare teams to manage clinical presentations in this unconventional context. Without access to simulation infrastructure, a low-technological, low-fidelity simulation modality is warranted.

Solution

Draw & Doodle Simulation (D&D SIM) is a low-fidelity simulation where patients are hand-drawn (i.e. on paper, whiteboard, or digitally) instead of utilizing manikins or live actors. Facilitators draw all patient findings, while participants doodle any possible interventions.

Solution implementation

Two D&D SIM cases (serotonin toxicity and refractory anaphylaxis) were piloted in classrooms. Participants included paramedics, medical students, lifeguards, and first aiders. Facilitators conducted simulations using chart paper, with each participant doodling contributions using differently colored markers.

Lessons learned

Participants responded positively, rating the serotonin toxicity case 4.31/5 (n = 13) and refractory anaphylaxis case 4.53/5 (n = 15). Participants appreciated the ‘low-stakes’, useful ‘visual’ representation of progress, ‘fun and [interactivity]’, and appropriate ‘[realism]’ of D&D SIM. However, D&D SIM was perceived as ‘less life threatening’, would not be appropriate for physical skills (e.g. CPR), required everyone to be ‘oriented in the same direction to see the drawing’, and the chart paper risked becoming cluttered.

Next steps

Next steps include writing new cases, implementing D&D SIM in other teaching contexts, exploring its use in digital platforms, and studying its effectiveness against higher-fidelity simulation.

Keywords:

• Simulation
• low-fidelity
• drawing

Ethics statement

The University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board approved the use of the post-simulation evaluation survey used to collect data from participants, who provided consent. Data were collected anonymously.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Not applicable.

Notes on contributors

Anthony Seto

Anthony Seto BHSc(Hons) MD CCFP(EM) C-EM is an Event Physician and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Calgary.

Connor Hass

Connor Hass BSc(Hons) is a University of Calgary medical student.

Ella Krane

Ella Krane BSc(Hons) is a University of Calgary medical student.

Liam Montgomery

Liam Montgomery BSc(Hons) MESC is a University of Calgary medical student.

David Lam

David Lam BSc(Hons) is a University of Calgary medical student.

Michael McCue

Michael McCue BScN MD is a University of British Columbia emergency medicine resident.