6245 Use of simulation for teaching on paediatric eating disorders

Objectives Young people, on occasion, require admission to acute paediatric wards in the Trust for management of their eating disorder. An anonymous survey exploring challenges perceived by paediatric staff was performed across the 2 sites allowing us to recognise key areas of difficulties and structure our simulation teaching to address these issues. Key areas of difficulty highlighted included: Busyness of clinical environment. Lack of training. Specifics of clinical management. Relationships between paediatric and eating disorder teams. Perception of ward suitability for admission/cultural issues. We aim to begin addressing the challenges listed above through simulation teaching, primarily lack of training, specifics of clinical management and perception of ward suitability for admission/cultural issues. Methods A simulation teaching session was held at both sites across the Trust addressing key themes highlighted by the survey. This was attended by the multidisciplinary team including junior doctors, consultants, specialty doctors, nursing staff, advanced paediatric nurse practitioners, nursing and medical students. The simulation focused on supervised meal time with a teenager admitted to the ward with an eating disorder, highlighting key behaviours to watch for, how to intervene and how to communicate with the young person and their family. This was followed by a presentation on MEED guidelines on assessment and management of paediatric patients with eating disorders. Results Anonymous feedback was collected from attendees. 55% of staff had not received any prior training or teaching on management of inpatients with eating disorders. 100% of participants across both sites found the teaching session to be very relevant to their role. 100% of participants reported the session increased their confidence in management of these patients. Qualitative feedback received reported the simulation was very beneficial, realistic, addressing concerns such as what language to use and practical tips. It allowed an opportunity to observe behaviours and learn how to respond to them, highlighting challenges faced when managing these patients and explaining how to deal with them. Suggestions for the future included more teaching sessions covering more scenarios through simulation including re-feeding and interacting with families. Conclusion Following the very positive feedback received, it has shown that simulation teaching for management of paediatric patients with eating disorders is well received, beneficial and increases levels of confidence amongst clinical staff. This will ultimately lead to improvements in patient safety and management. We plan to deliver further simulated teaching sessions on young people with eating disorders, looking at different scenarios such as medical emergencies and challenging conversations.