6809 Keep calm and communicate – integrating simulated communication scenarios to improve confidence of paediatric trainees entering registrar roles

Objectives Good communication skills are an essential component of paediatric practice and a part of the RCPCH curriculum. There is good evidence supporting the translation of clinical skills learnt during simulation into clinical practice, but the impact of simulation on communication skills is less well known.1 Our objective was to enhance simulation training days in the East of England (EoE) deanery by integrating scenarios focused on communication skills. We aimed to provide practice for challenging scenarios to improve communication efficacy. Methods The EoE paediatric simulation committee conduct simulation days aimed at trainees stepping up into registrar roles. The 'virtual ready for reg' day exclusively focuses on communication skills and includes scenarios on conflict resolution, safeguarding, and handover skills. The day was conducted virtually via zoom. Candidates were divided into breakout rooms with a facilitator each and were given specific scenarios to manage. Each candidate would be given an opportunity to lead the scenario with their facilitator followed by a debrief. At the end of each session, candidates were asked to share their learning points with the whole group. Pre and post course feedback was collected. Results 66.67% of attendees found the sessions to be 'very useful' and 33.33% found it to be 'extremely useful' to their clinical practice with 100% of candidates agreeing the course was appropriate to their level of training. The use of breakout rooms followed by group discussions was especially found to be helpful by the candidates and facilitators in conducting these simulated scenarios on a virtual platform. Candidates found scenarios focusing on safeguarding and handover to tertiary teams to be most useful. 100% of candidates feedback that they would recommend the course to their colleagues. Conclusion Implementing a simulation based study day focused on communication skills has been a well received addition to our regional training days. By including common scenarios that paediatric registrars are faced with in their daily practice, candidates were provided an opportunity to practice and improve their skills in a safe environment. The use of a virtual platform made the course more accessible to the trainees in our deanery. Going forwards, to enhance the educational experience, we aim to include multisource assessment to better assess different aspects of each scenario.2 There is also potential to transition these days into a hybrid format to increase the authenticity of the scenarios, and to account for verbal and non-verbal skills. References A Blackmore, et al. Simulation-based education to improve communication skills: a systematic review and identification of current best practice, 2018. P Beuadoin, et al. Teaching communication skills to OTL-HNS residents: multisource feedback and simulated scenarios, 2019.