When performing a complex medical procedure, even small errors can have catastrophic consequences for the people under your care. Similar to preparing to man an aircraft, medical simulation courses are a great way to prepare for these situations. That’s why 25 simulation sessions at CHEST 2023 will offer exposure to crisis techniques and decision-making in a realistic environment perfect for learning.

“One of the really great things about medical simulation—as in the airline industry—you can focus on really somewhat rare but very high-stakes situations and prepare people for those,” CHEST Live Learning Subcommittee Chair, Nicholas J. Pastis, MD, FCCP, said.

CHEST 2023 attendees can purchase tickets for more than two dozen simulation sessions offering hands-on experience in highly relevant scenarios and procedures. Topics include bronchoscopy, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, chest tube placement, echocardiography, endobronchial ultrasound, intubation and cricothyrotomy, laryngoscopy, and more.

Participants will practice skills firsthand under the direction—not demonstration—of multidisciplinary expert faculty who use the strategies in their daily practice. Courses have been created to benefit all levels of clinicians and fill in any gaps due to lack of direct experience or the emergence of new technologies and techniques.

“You can take a very complex procedure, and we deconstruct it into simple steps,” Dr. Pastis said. “We have validated checklists that have been vetted with novice, intermediate, and advanced clinicians. And we use those to very systematically train a person to the point where they get the muscle memory, and they can take that procedure back and refine it at their home institution.”

Eight simulation sessions will be available for the first time at the annual meeting, including a course on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) selection and management of common challenges. The 2-hour course, ECMO: When to Start, When to Stop, and Everything in Between, will be held on Sunday, October 8, at 9:30 am; Monday, October 9, at 1 pm; and Tuesday, October 10, at 7:30 am. Dr. Pastis noted that not everyone learns about ECMO in a uniform way, so he thinks it will be a popular add-on session.

“It really goes through patient selection, cannulation, all the way through to troubleshooting and eventual weaning for those patients that can come off or transition to other therapy,” he said.

Dr. Pastis pointed out other highlights from among the new simulation offerings, including:

• More Airway Nightmares: Taking the Horror out of Airway Challenges – This simulation, on Tuesday, October 10, at 7:15 am, is a follow-up to the choose-your-own-adventure Nightmares on Airway Street simulation addressing different disease states that further complicate airway management from physiologic and anatomic standpoints.

• Bronchoscopic Evaluation and Management of Persistent Air Leaks – This simulation, on Sunday, October 8, at 8:45 am, will review the isolation of air leaks, valve sizing and placement, and valve removal.

• HiFi ICU Sim: Applying Airway, Ultrasound, and Mechanical Ventilation Skills to the Unstable Patient – This ICU simulation, on Monday, October 9, at 8:30 am, will allow learners to troubleshoot challenging intubations, learn techniques for evaluating and managing ventilator dyssynchrony, and interpret ultrasound images.

A full list and descriptions of new and returning simulation sessions can be viewed in the meeting’s online program and added during registration along with other ticketed opportunities. Attendees are encouraged to register now and reserve their spots as soon as possible. Some simulations will be held on multiple days, but space is limited.