Emergent resuscitation of postoperative paediatric cardiac surgical patients requires specialised skills and multidisciplinary teamwork. Bedside resternotomy is a rare but life-saving procedure and few studies focus on ways to prepare providers and improve performance. We created a multidisciplinary educational intervention that addressed teamwork and technical skills. We aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the intervention to decrease time to perform critical tasks and improve caregiver comfort.

A simulation-based, in situ resternotomy educational intervention was implemented. Pre-intervention data were collected. Educational aids were used weekly during day and night nursing huddles over a three-month period. All ICU charge nurses had separate educational sessions with study personnel and were required to demonstrate competency in all the critical tasks. Post-intervention simulations were performed after intervention and at 6 months and post-intervention surveys were performed.

A total of 186 providers participated in the intervention. There was a decrease in time to obtain defibrillator, setup resternotomy equipment and internal defibrillator paddles and deliver sedation and fluid (all p < 0.05). Time to escort family from the room and obtain blood was significantly decreased after intervention (p < 0.05). There was no difference in time to first dose of epinephrine, defibrillator pads on the patient, or time to call the cardiovascular surgeon or blood bank. Providers reported increased comfort in identifying equipment needed for resternotomy (p < 0.01) and setting up the internal defibrillator paddles (p < 0.01).

Implementation of a novel educational intervention increased provider comfort and decreased time to perform critical tasks in an emergent resternotomy scenario.