Norton Children’s Simulation for Pediatric Assessment, Resuscitation and Communication (SPARC) Program

Interested in the SPARC Program?

To enroll in a simulation or get more information, email Amy Hanson, M.D., at [email protected].

The Simulation for Pediatric Assessment, Resuscitation and Communication (SPARC) Program educates pediatric clinicians in:

Crisis resource management skills
Procedural skills
Pediatric physiology and pathophysiology
Communication skills, including delivery of difficult news to patients and families

Interested in the SPARC Program?

To enroll in a simulation or get more information, email Mary K. Sandquist, M.D., SPARC Program director and pediatric critical care physician with Norton Children’s Critical Care, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, at [email protected].

The SPARC Program Is Designed For:

Physicians
Nurses
Respiratory therapists
Pharmacists

Program Goals

Train health care professionals on the management of a variety of pediatric medical conditions, including high-risk and/or high-acuity conditions.
Rehearse effective teamwork principles and communication during medical events and procedures.
Optimize care by identifying and correcting safety threats and improving efficiency and quality.
Generate new knowledge and scholarship.

Session Locations

Sessions are conducted in multiple locations inside and outside of Norton Healthcare, including emergency departments, surgical and sedation services, the “Just for Kids” Critical Care Center, the neonatal intensive care unit, and all inpatient floors at Norton Children’s Hospital, Norton Children’s Medical Center and Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. We also offer outreach simulation opportunities regionally for centers looking to improve their pediatric preparedness.

SPARC Program: What to Expect

A typical session starts with an introduction to the skills that will be needed for that particular situation. Critical events are simulated using one of a fleet of high-fidelity patient simulators.
Simulations may be recorded so that participants can review their performance.
After each simulation, participants are debriefed by program faculty.
During this time, they reflect on their actions and discuss development strategies to address any issues.
The SPARC Program also makes use of rapid-cycling simulations, which offer participants repeated rehearsals of key actions, behaviors or communication elements, to provide participants with a muscle memory of what it should feel like when optimally working.
Family interactions are portrayed using standardized patients as part of the communication skills arm of SPARC, known as Focus on Relational Crisis Education (FORCE) Simulation Program.

Here, clinicians learn important techniques for dealing with the delivery of difficult news to patients and their families. Video-assisted debriefing allows participants to deconstruct and reflect on their experiences, teaching them how to approach such conversations more effectively in the future.

Other SPARC Activities

Procedural training for pediatric residents, fellows, faculty, nurses and respiratory therapists

Ongoing educational outreach to local and regional emergency departments

Using simulation to identify safety threats and to achieve process improvements

Participation in the INSPIRE Pediatric Simulation Research Collaborative

The SPARC Program is funded by the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation and has received grants from the University of Louisville School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, WHAS Crusade for Children and the Kentucky Hospital Association.

SPARC Program Leadership

Aaron W. Calhoun, M.D.
Pediatric Critical Care Physician
Norton Children’s Critical Care
Senior Adviser, SPARC Program

Mary K. Sandquist, M.D.
Pediatric Critical Care Physician
Norton Children’s Critical Care
Director, SPARC Program

Erin Kirk, R.N.
Director, Patient Care
Norton Children’s Hospital
Nursing/Respiratory Therapy Director, SPARC Program

Simulation Operations

Megan B. Laniewicz, M.D.
Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician
Norton Children’s Emergency Medicine
Associate Director of Simulation Operations, SPARC Program

Dari O’Brien, RRT
Respiratory Therapy Educator
Norton Children’s Hospital
Associate Director of Simulation Operations, Respiratory Therapy Lead

Ashley Page, RRT
Respiratory Therapy Educator
Norton Children’s Hospital
Associate Director of Simulation Operations, Respiratory Therapy Lead

Simulation Education and Quality

Tara M. Kopp, M.D.
Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician
Norton Children’s Emergency Medicine
Associate Director of Simulation Education and Quality, SPARC Program

Leanna Magner, R.N.
Clinical Nurse Educator
Norton Children’s Hospital
Associate Director of Simulation Education and Quality, Nursing Lead, SPARC Program

Simulation Safety

Rebekah Hoerner, R.N.
Clinical Nurse Educator
Norton Children’s Hospital
Associate Director of Simulation Safety, Nursing Lead, SPARC Program

Simulation Outreach

Karen L. Orman, M.D.
Pediatric Critical Care Physician
Norton Children’s Critical Care
Director, “Just for Kids” Transport Team
Associate Director of Simulation Outreach, SPARC Program

Donna Callahan, R.N.
Coordinator, Transport Services
Norton Children’s Hospital
Associate Director of Simulation Outreach, Nursing Lead, SPARC Program

Lauren Johnson, R.N.
Coordinator, Transport Services
Norton Children’s Hospital
Associate Director of Simulation Outreach, Nursing Lead, SPARC Program

Communication Division: FORCE Simulation Team

Eleanor B. Peterson, M.D.
Director of SPARC Communication Skills Education

Kelly Lyons, D.O.
Associate Director of SPARC Communications Skills Education

Robin M. Lund, M.D.

SPARC Norton Children’s Hospital Unit-based Simulation Teams

Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Simulation Team
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Simulation Team
Emergency Department Simulation Team
Inpatient Simulation Team
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Simulation Team
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Simulation Team
Procedural Training Simulation Team
Surgical Services/Anesthesia Simulation Team
Respiratory Therapy Simulation Team

Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital Simulation Team

Keil Fieldhouse, R.N.
Clinical Nurse Educator
Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital

Caitlin Vaughn, R.N.
Clinical Nurse Educator
Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital

Norton Children’s Medical Center Simulation Team

Cara Lowery, R.N.
Clinical Educator
Norton Children’s Medical Center