This study published February, 2020 in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery contributed to the substantial and growing body of research dedicated to the question, does simulation work? Can we show improved patient outcomes as a result of experiential education facilitated by the facsimile creation of life like rehearsal?

Unequivocally the answer is, yes.

The evidence base for this conclusion is neither small or narrow in its focus. Take for example this study which is assessing whether trauma teams who participate in regular high fidelity simulations show an improvement in the time it takes to establish a chest tube in a trauma patient.

"Median pretraining time for resuscitative thoracotomy was 14 minutes (IQR, 8–32 minutes); posttraining median time was 3 minutes (IQR, 2.7–8 minutes,p= 0.02)"

Read that again...

Before simulation based learning, median time to place a chest tube = 14 minutes

After simulation based learning, median time to place a chest tube = 3 minutes

The delta of this is 11 minutes.

Blood and air filling your chest cavity, placing pressure on your vena-cava likely resulting in its collapse leading to PEA cardiac arrest and the dreaded trauma arrest death spiral. An eleven minute reduction in the time to facilitate the evacuation of the blood and or air may very well be the difference between life and death.  This just one of many studies that strongly correlate the integration of serial simulation into clinical practice resulting in improved care and better patient outcomes.

We compile studies to support the impact of simulation based education in healthcare. We have identified that simulation can be reliably attributed to;

1. Improves patient outcomes
2. Reduces preventable medical error
3. Increases team performance
4. Identifies latent patient safety threats

Simulation works!

Park, C., Grant, J., Dumas, R. P., Dultz, L., Shoultz, T. H., Scott, D. J., … Cripps, M. W. (2020). Does simulation work? Monthly trauma simulation and procedural training are associated with decreased time to intervention. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 88(2), 242–248. doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000002561

At the close of 2019 (November 8th), we had the privilege of attending the Prospera Business Network's 34th Annual Business Excellence Awards Dinner in Bozeman, Montana. With hundreds of local Montana leaders, businesses, and entrepreneurs gathered for an open bar, appetizers, photo booth, raffle, and awards dinner—it was quite the red carpet gala. This event was especially exciting because Best Practice Medicine's own CEO and Co-founder, Ben King, was a finalist for the 2019 "Entrepreneur of the Year" Award!

Every year the world’s nine leading Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiac Care organizations compile their most up-to-date research to improve the current CPR and ECC guidelines. This year, 2019, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation released the updated CPR and ECC guidelines near the end of November. "These annual updates," says AHA's website, "allow the rigor of a comprehensive review and expert consensus in as close to real-time as possible." So these newest "hot-off-the-press" updates will be critical in the coming months and years of your practice. They'll help you continue to stay sharp, be prepared, and stay on the cutting-edge of patient care and improved patient outcomes. Whether you're currently certified, or looking to get certified, here's what you need to know about these vital new updates.

Simulation Team Leaders Achieve CHSE Certification, making Best Practice Medicine history.

We have crossed a major threshold in the history of Best Practice Medicine, the Project Partner for Simulation in Motion Montana Inc. We're proud to announce that Simulation Team Leaders Brodie Verworn and DJ Olson have both achieved national credentialing as a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE). To accomplish this distinguished credentialing, they spent months preparing for the exam and familiarizing themselves with validated best practices in simulation education. Created by The Society for Simulation in Healthcare, the CHSE certification "has been developed as a service to the healthcare simulation community. The CHSE certification is intended for individuals who perform healthcare simulation in the educator role without restriction to simulation modality, setting (locations where simulation takes place), geographic location, learner population, function (e.g. teaching, assessment), and profession." (1)

Have you and your organization taken advantage of this amazing opportunity?

If you haven't heard, Best Practice Medicine, on behalf of the American Heart Association and the Helmsley Charitable Trust, is offering fully subsidized, Montana focused, Best Practices in Rural STEMI Care – The Mission Continues. This invaluable education improves care for our cardiac patients and bolsters the knowledge of providers, nurses, and EMS professionals. This clinical education program continues the mission and initiatives of the American Heart Association's Mission Lifeline program, started in 2014, paused in 2018, then relaunched through March of 2020. (Get started here!).

Bozeman, MT, October 11, 2019 - This just in: Best Practice Medicine, a professional medical education company founded in Montana, with locations in Flathead County and Bozeman, has launched a new division: Tactical Medicine (TAC-MED) Division. With that, a brand new course has been created, especially for the rural context: TECC-RE: Tactical Emergency Casualty Care - Rural Environment. For those who want to train and prepare for high-threat prehospital environments (urban or rural) or battlefield casualty scenarios, the new TAC-MED division seeks to thoroughly train and prepare all those interested in this field. Best Practice Medicine is proud to also be offering both Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) and Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) courses. (Click here for more information). 

Have you ever watched a film so impactful that you wanted all your friends, family, and colleagues to see it? Recently we encountered just such a film: To Err is Human - A Patient Safety Documentary. It's such a big deal, in fact, that we're screening the film for free (with a special Q&A panel with Montana medical experts right after) and inviting all who can make it to attend.

"For anyone working in the medical field as a provider, administrator, educator, or healer--or even if you’ve been a witness to or affected by medical mistakes--this is an event you'll want to attend."

Do you know what the third leading cause of death is in the US? It's not diabetes, stroke, or even Alzheimer's. It's medical errors. Read that again. Medical errors. Medical mistakes lead to as many as 440,000 preventable deaths every year. That's the equivalent of 7-8 jumbo jets crashing every day with no survivors. With good reason, many medical experts are declaring this a public health emergency.

Join us Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 7PM at the Ellen Theatre in downtown Bozeman.

This is an event you don't want to miss out on. (Watch the trailer below). RSVP Here!

Today, with Best Practice Medicine Co-Founder (and COO), Loren Deichman, and your BPM-TV host Miles Hackney, we'll be giving an in-depth description of how to place and obtain a diagnostic quality electrocardiogram. Quick trivia: Did you know electrocardiogram is abbreviated as both EKG and ECG? In German it's "Elektro-kardiographie"; in English it's "electrocardiography". An EKG is a record of electrical current in the heart over time. For many EMTs and Paramedics a 12-lead EKG is a vital tool in patient care. OK, let's dive in! Watch the video below or read on for the point by point training. 

By the time a child turns two years old, the experts say they should be able to do all kinds of fun things like stand on tiptoes, throw a ball, and begin to show more independence. Our own "baby", the Simulation in Motion Montana (SIM-MT) program, turns 2 years old this month and we are thrilled to report that we have three healthy, thriving little mobile sim labs on our hands. They're throwing balls, standing on tiptoes, and traveling all over Montana changing lives like they were born for it. It seems like just yesterday when the little labs were a twinkle in the eye of all those who brought her into the world. Now, in just a short time, we've hit some incredible milestones, working with thousands of rural healthcare clinicians across Montana, reducing error, improving outcomes and saving lives.

Bozeman, MT, July 1, 2019 - This just in: Best Practice Medicine, a professional medical education company founded in Montana, has officially opened a new campus location in Flathead County, MT. With a main campus based in Bozeman, supporting a passionate team of over 50 educators, from Culbertson to Kalispell, this second campus will serve medical providers from Western MT, Northern ID, Eastern WA, and Canada. Strategically located at 600 Windmill Drive in Columbia Falls, the mountains of Glacier National Park within view, the campus will continue the mission of Best Practice Medicine, to bring high-quality medical education to all of Montana--and beyond.