Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

A Graduatte Level Immersive-Simulattion Program For Teaching And Assessing Fundamental Skills In Entry Level Clinical Perfusionists., Bruce Searles

Dissertations - ALL

Background: The clinical perfusionist is a member of the open-heart-surgery team and responsible for operating the life support equipment that replaces the function of the patient's heart and lungs and arrests and restarts the patient's heart in the course of a Cardiopulmonary Bypass (CPB) procedure. In the perfusionists scope of practice, the consequence of unskilled actions, inaccurate understanding or delayed decision making may result in significant patient morbidity or even death. Historically, perfusion students have learned and practiced their skills within a clinical preceptorship program in which an experienced clinician allows the novice student to operate the life support equipment …