|
Abstract
|
Traditional tabletop exercises, that facilitate major incident (MI) planning and education, use paper plans and models. We describe a low-cost, electronic whiteboard that explores how interactive software can advance this educational scenario. The authors intend to demonstrate this technology.
The infra-red tracking device within the Nintendo Wii handset is the key to this setup's functionality. When connected to a computer and projector it provides an ad hoc interactive whiteboard, operated with infra-red pens, comparable to proprietary wall-mounted solutions yet easily transportable. Capturing a team's work, by enabling print-outs at principal stages of exercises, is additionally advantageous.
Utilising this technology we ran an exercise to determine our new Paediatric Emergency Department Unit's MI Plan. The software was purpose-built so the incident played out on the departmental floor plan, allowing scrutiny of patient flow within our own physical environment. Questionnaires employing 1–5 Likert scales (where 1 and 5 indicated strong disagreement and agreement, respectively), were retrospectively completed by participants. Median values and interquartile ranges (IQR) were calculated.
Although from a small sample size (n = 10), the results from this ‘mini-trial’ were very encouraging. The response rate was 100%. A high level of positive concordance was maintained across the feedback received. The main outcome was whether the setup facilitated MI Plan development. The median response found unilateral strong agreement for this and none of the users found the setup distracting. Additionally, novice contributors found the equipment easy to use (median = 4; IQR = 4.0–4.75).
By combining new, affordable technology and bespoke software, this novel set up demonstrates a new approach to updating the current tabletop exercises used in MI training and practise. We were able to positively apply the feedback generated to develop the new Paediatric Unit's MI Plan. Future work with this innovation will include adapting our MI Plan for a new Emergency Department currently under-construction. |