Meeting learners where they are: case presentations in remote pediatric critical care education

Abstract

As the burden of pediatric critical illness is heaviest in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), educating trainees in recognizing and treating the sickest children may attenuate high mortality rates, morbidity and hospital length of stay. Remote education is increasingly utilized to provide effective teaching across borders. We describe the efforts of an international collaborative group created to supplement pediatric critical care education through online didactics. An essential part of this has been integrating case presentations into the curriculum to supplement traditional topic-based teaching. Ninety-five case presentations have been performed, of which acute respiratory failure, infectious disease without sepsis and neurologic disease were the most common pathologies discussed. In addition, we considered issues such as the applicability of guidelines developed in high-income countries (HIC) and the ethical complexity of caring for critically ill children in LMIC, which often have limited resources. Case presentations also allow a deeper appreciation of the circumstances in which colleagues provide care for critically ill children in RLS and foster bidirectional learning. Discussion of cases with international faculty can enrich discussions, strengthen global bonds and promote collaboration among the larger community.