Implementation of the SIMPL (Society for Improving Medical Professional Learning) performance assessment tool in the emergency department: A pilot study.

Background: Feedback and assessment are difficult to provide in the emergency department (ED) setting despite their critical importance for competency-based education, and traditional end-of-shift evaluations (ESEs) alone may be inadequate. The SIMPL (Society for Improving Medical Professional Learning) mobile application has been successfully implemented and studied in the operative setting for surgical training programs as a point-of-care tool that incorporates three assessment scales in addition to dictated feedback. SIMPL may represent a viable tool for enhancing workplace-based feedback and assessment in emergency medicine (EM).
Methods: We implemented SIMPL at a 4-year EM residency program during a pilot study from March to June 2021 for observable activities such as medical resuscitations and related procedures. Faculty and residents underwent formal rater training prior to launch and were asked to complete surveys regarding the SIMPL app's content, usability, and future directions at the end of the pilot.
Results: A total of 36/58 (62%) of faculty completed at least one evaluation, for a total of 190 evaluations and an average of three evaluations per faculty. Faculty initiated 130/190 (68%) and residents initiated 60/190 (32%) evaluations. Ninety-one percent included dictated feedback. A total of 45/54 (83%) residents received at least one evaluation, with an average of 3.5 evaluations per resident. Residents generally agreed that SIMPL increased the quality of feedback received and that they valued dictated feedback. Residents generally did not value the numerical feedback provided from SIMPL. Relative to the residents, faculty overall responded more positively toward SIMPL. The pilot generated several suggestions to inform the optimization of the next version of SIMPL for EM training programs.
Conclusions: The SIMPL app, originally developed for use in surgical training programs, can be implemented for use in EM residency programs, has positive support from faculty, and may provide important adjunct information beyond current ESEs.
Competing Interests: The following authors declare no potential conflict of interest: RH, KWS, MGD. GMW is the Director of Operations of the 501c3 nonprofit research collaborative, the Society for Improving Medical Professional Learning (SIMPL). He is paid 50% of his salary from SIMPL, and his compensation is not directly tied to publication, membership, or any other operations metric for the collaborative. BCG serves as the Executive Director of SIMPL, a position for which he is not paid. This work was funded by a University of Michigan Institutional Graduate Medical Education (GME) Innovations grant conceived and written by JB. JB, MRCH and CEH received salary support from the grant to complete this work.
(© 2023 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.)