Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice

**July 28, 2025 - Scroll to the bottom for new rapid cycle case content** Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice (RCDP) uses the theory of deliberate practice to create an environment in which skills building is accomplished through short cycles of simulation interrupted by micro-debriefing and followed by re-engagement in the simulation in order to “overlearn” the material.

Boating trauma

25 year old male is involved in a boating accident. He was in the lake waterskiing and struck by another boat, sustaining blunt abdominal and pelvic injuries and significant propeller injuries to his leg.  The trauma team will be activated and he will be brought to the ED. Treatment includes tourniquet application to the limb and rapid blood product administration. Intubation for clinical course and pain management need to be addressed with disposition to the operating room.

Atrial Fibrillation

This case comes from Dr Aneesha Thouli and Dr Brad Stebner. Dr Brad Stebner is a staff emergency physician at Kelowna General Hospital. His interests include medical education and leadership, sports medicine, and health care administration. He is particularly interested in using simulation to evaluate system efficiency, crisis resource management, and interprofessional collaboration. Dr Aneesha … Continue reading Atrial Fibrillation

Organophosphate Poisoning

A 60-year old farmer presents to the ED with a runny nose, vomiting and diarrhea. He feels short of breath and dizzy. He looks so unwell that he is placed into the resuscitation bay. Initial vital sign show tachypnea, hypoxia, and bradycardia. You are immediately concerned about the copious nasal and oral secretions.

Critical Care 3 – Spinal Cord Injury

This is the third case in a series looking at critical care medicine. A 46-year-old woman pinned between truck and car has been resuscitated in ED and multiple injuries were identified, including bilateral rib fractures with flail chest, liver laceration and unstable T5-6 fractures with reduction of canal diameter. ICU has admitted the patient while she awaits OR later today to stabilize the spine.

Heat related illness

This case comes from Dr. Jared Baylis and Dr. Kelly Huang Dr. Baylis is the Simulation Medical Director at University of British Columbia - Southern Medical Program and Interior Health, as well as an editor of EM Sim Cases. Dr. Huang a PGY5 Emergency Medicine resident at University of British Columbia and is currently completing … Continue reading Heat related illness

LVAD Pump Thrombosis

A 70 y/o male post LVAD implantation presents to the emergency department with a chief complaint of shortness of the breath. The team will need to progress through the initial assessment of an LVAD patient, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of pump thrombosis. They will initiate anticoagulation, consult cardiothoracic surgery, and admit to CTICU. 

Alcohol and opioid use

These cases come to us from Drs. Jessica Pelletier and Anne Ickes. Jessica Pelletier, DO is an Emergency Medicine Education Fellow at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Her interests include harm reduction, the use of simulation for difficult conversations and procedural preparedness, and the use of osteopathic manipulation for pain control in … Continue reading Alcohol and opioid use