Simulation training has been used to improve patient safety across multiple care settings. This study sought to enhance diagnostic accuracy for trauma care among resident-level trainees. Researchers developed several standardized cases to assess care for a patient presenting with severe injury. Some scenarios were algorithmic and others required more analysis. Residents with more years of training performed better on the simpler scenarios but worse on the analytic scenarios which required that they reassess their diagnosis. This finding suggests that those with more experience assimilated the algorithms more readily, but they also continue to need cognitive training for diagnostic accuracy. A past AHRQ WebM&M interview with Dr. Pat Croskerry discusses the need to enhance cognitive skills for diagnosis in medical training.

Anesthesia residents' ability to handle intraoperative equipment failure was evaluated using simulated scenarios. This method proved to be a reliable evaluation tool.