Training

Emergency room doctors spend only 16 percent of their training time learning how to recognize and respond to pediatric emergencies — yet up to 33 percent of their patients are babies and children.

That’s why R Baby partners with leading medical schools and hospitals to fund programs that bring essential training directly to physicians and ER staff, from life-like emergency simulations to education modules, vital signs awareness and other innovative programs.

Scroll down to learn more about our projects:

R Baby’s Grants Train:

  • Primary Care Physicians
  • Family Medicine Doctors
  • General and Pediatric Attending ER Physicians
  • Fellows and Resident Doctors
  • Nurse Practitioners
  • Physician Assistants
  • Nurses
  • Medics and EMTs
  • Technicians
  • Respiratory Therapists
  • Pharmacists

INSPIRE Network

Sponsored by R Baby since its inception as POISE, this collaborative medical education research network develops and shares novel educational training modules, webinars and other resources that result in measurable improvements in the health outcomes of acutely ill infants and children.

 

INSPIRE Training Successes

  • 7 published works reaching thousands
  • 17 new lifesaving training modules were added to the INSPIRE Network to continue to reduce mistakes and improve care, such as intubation, as well as core skill checklists and diagnosis recognition training
  • Accessed by 21 countries
  • Used by 188 hospitals or medical sites
  • 521 medical members
  • 5,000 medical professionals trained
  • 14,000 intubation iPad app downloads
  • 22,000 online video downloads of LP to date
  • Infant lumbar training builds lifesaving skills for over 40 percent of the nation’s pediatric trainees
  • Created a central repository for sharing skill-training resources to make them widely available to medical personnel throughout the U.S.

Sim-Mobile Simulation Project

Led by the Yale School of Medicine, the Sim-Mobile simulation project creates realistic emergency situations that give doctors and medical staff the opportunity for hands-on learning. Delivered by ambulance directly to Pediatric and General Emergency Departments in multiple states, the Sim-Mobile features actors in mock emergency situations and a simulation infant mannequin. It provides cycles of simulation-based assessment, training, re-assessment and repeat training to create the highest impact and reinforce learning.

sim_mobile

Sim-Mobile Training Successes

  • Conducted over 200 simulations at 30 hospitals across 8 states in the northeast. This program uses parent actors and life-like mannequins in pediatric emergency scenarios so that emergency personnel can practice skills and procedures with the guidance and help of pediatric experts.
  • Established and sustained relationships in these hospitals for long-term improvement and education.
  • Helped hospitals identify ineffective or incomplete systems and correct them. Examples include adding proper pediatric equipment and specific drug concentrations.
  • Success were submitted to five medical publications and presented at six national and international presentations.

“My first infant lumbar puncture (spinal tap) was in the emergency department on a 23-day-old-baby with a fever. Just before the procedure, my attending and I did the “just in time” training, where I was able to practice the lumbar puncture on a baby mannequin, and review proper needle placement and technique. When it came time for the real thing, I felt comfortable with my ability to safely and accurately perform the procedure. I think without this training, I would not have been as confident in my procedure skills. And that child might not have been diagnosed if the procedure was unsuccessful.”

— A young physician in a General ED

PEP Vital Signs Save Babies’ Lives

The PEP Network’s “Vital Signs Save Babies’ Lives” initiative marks the first collaborative use and uniform acceptance of standardized vital signs for children in emergency rooms in the U.S. The initiative is tailored specifically to identify serious illness in babies and children seen in emergency rooms who appear otherwise well.

Vital Signs Training Successes

  • Without recognition of these dangerously abnormal vital signs — often the sole indicator of a serious condition — children who otherwise appear well have frequently been inappropriately discharged, with disastrous consequences including death.
  • Five leading academic emergency departments and a total of 200 physicians and medical students have completed this vital-signs training over the past year, and it is available through the INSPIRE Network.

“I cared for an 8-year-old boy who appeared to be very well. If not for that lecture (PEP Vital Signs for Children), on any other given day I would have contacted the child’s primary care physician and discharged him to follow-up the next day. However, because of your vital signs rules I contacted the pediatric intensivist at SUNY Upstate Medical Center and presented the case to him. He agreed to accept the patient in transfer for observation. I followed up with him in 36 hours and he informed me that the child’s heart rate did not decrease. Cardiac echo showed a modest but definite depression of cardiac function and there were elevations of cardiac enzymes, and the diagnosis was Myocarditis, a life-threatening inflammation of the heart.”

— Experienced Non-Pediatric Physician, Rural Community ER, Upstate New York

EMT Training

In 2024, R Baby is proud to fund Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s Simbulance program which provides critical training for first responders and enhances statewide pediatric emergency care.   EMTs, paramedics, and nurses earn Continuing Education credit while practicing their technical skills in a realistic environment.

R Baby has also funded EMT Training through Children’s Hospital of Colorado to improve pre-hospital care and the quality of transport of pediatric patients during the first critical minutes. This program has improved care for the 9,000 babies seen in Colorado by EMS providers and ultimately make a difference for children nationally when the training is shared with a broader audience.

“This training was by far the best of the year! Thanks for bringing this one-of-a-kind resource to our community!”

— R. Putfark, Captain, Arvada Fire Protection District

An Evaluation of Remote Simulation as a Tool to Improve Pediatric Preparedness in Critical Access Hospital Emergency Departments

An Evaluation of Remote Simulation (video-conferencing) as a Tool to Improve Pediatric Preparedness in Critical Access Hospital Emergency Departments (Rural Areas in North Carolina) is being led by Johns Hopkins Hospital. This program specifically focuses on assisting hospitals in rural locations that are in great need of pediatric expertise. These remote locations will now be trained through the innovative use of tele-medicine and simulation with established local partners.

“Honestly I was somewhat frightened by the discussion of pediatric infectious disease emergencies. I will definitely be more aware of these rare presentations in my practice.”

— Emergency Department Resident