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Using cognitive load theory to develop an emergency airway management curriculum: the Queen’s University Mastery Airway Course (QUMAC)

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Abstract

Emergency airway management requires the simultaneous coordination of clinical reasoning and therapeutic interventions in the complex and time-sensitive setting of emergency resuscitation. The cognitive demand associated with these situations is invariably high and must be taken into consideration when designing training programs for this core professional competency. The four-component instructional design model (4C/ID), based on cognitive load theory, was used to develop a 1-year longitudinal airway management curriculum for Emergency Medicine residents. The simulation-based curriculum was designed with the goal of facilitating the construction and automation of schemas by individual residents in preparation for the high cognitive demand associated with emergency airway management in the clinical environment.

Résumé

La gestion des voies aériennes en urgence nécessite la coordination simultanée du raisonnement clinique et des interventions thérapeutiques dans le cadre complexe et sensible au temps de la réanimation d'urgence. La demande cognitive associée à ces situations est invariablement élevée et doit être prise en considération lors de la conception des programmes de formation pour cette compétence professionnelle essentielle. Le modèle de conception pédagogique à quatre composantes (4C/ID), fondé sur la théorie de la charge cognitive, a été utilisé pour élaborer un programme longitudinal de gestion des voies aériennes d’un an à l’intention des résidents en médecine d’urgence.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Adam Szulewski MD for his insight and comments.

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Correspondence to Robert McGraw.

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McGraw, R., Newbigging, J., Blackmore, E. et al. Using cognitive load theory to develop an emergency airway management curriculum: the Queen’s University Mastery Airway Course (QUMAC). Can J Emerg Med 25, 378–381 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43678-023-00495-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43678-023-00495-1

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