Trial Review

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Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
ACTRN12615000787583
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
9/07/2015
Date registered
29/07/2015
Date last updated
23/03/2017
Type of registration
Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
Pilot study to investigate the utility of an initial pre-work web-based training program for medical scribes aiming to work in an Emergency Department in preparing the scribes to be ready for work
Scientific title
Pilot study evaluating the utility of an initial pre-work, web-based training program for medical scribes aiming to work in an Emergency Department in preparing the scribes to be ready for work
Secondary ID [1] 287065 0
nil
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
U1111-1172-0323
Trial acronym
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Pre-work training for medical scribes aiming to work in an Emergency Department 295560 0
Condition category
Condition code
Public Health 295829 295829 0 0
Health service research

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
Scribe trainees will be offered access over 3 weeks at trainees convenience, to a training program which is as follows:
1. web-based training program available on-line that will take the students between 25 and 30 hours to complete, modular, covering basic scribe training (language, skills, behavioural training)
2. text-book to be read as adjunct to the course and kept for future reference
The Ultimate Medical Scribe handbook and course, Emergency Department 4th edition, Aaron Thompson, Kyle Kinglsey

They are required to complete each module in the training program and pass an end-of-module exam successfully. If unsuccessful they may complete the module again and take the exam again. There is no upper limit to the number of exam attempts until successfully passed.
The scribe trainees are monitored on-line as they progress through the course and complete each module exam - the researchers have continual access to the number of modules accessed, the time spent on each and the exam scores.
Intervention code [1] 292295 0
Other interventions
Comparator / control treatment
nil
Control group
Uncontrolled

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 295519 0
The primary outcome is "readiness to work" measured as follows:

The scribe candidates will attend a simulation centre training day at the end of the course. There will be a 45 minute orientation lecture to the template to be used to capture Emergency Department patient histories.

This will be followed by 3 patient encounters. Three typical emergency department presentations have been chosen to be representative of a typical, varied, Emergency Department day. Each patient is an actor, previously educated on the patient demographics, illness history and symptoms, past medical history and other pertinent information (such as social history and allergies). An emergency physician will take a history, examine the patient and make investigation and management plans for them.

The candidates will be asked to transcribe the patient history in real time, whilst observing the interaction. These histories will then be taken from the candidates and candidate identification will be masked.

Examiners will score the histories as to the quality, content and accuracy of the transcription obtained. The examiners will have previously watched the patient encounters and have transcribed their own record of the history to compare to the scribe's history.

Each history will be marked according to a criterion based modified Anghoff scale. This will allocate a score as follows - completely inadequate, inadequate, barely adequate and competent. Each scribe candidate will therefore receive scores overall which will determine their "readiness to work"
Timepoint [1] 295519 0
October 2015, 3 weeks from the start of the training program
Secondary outcome [1] 315755 0
nil
Timepoint [1] 315755 0
nil

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Applicants for a scribe role at Cabrini hospital Emergency Department who have respond to an advertisement in Melbourne, get selected for a first round job interview and then are amongst the top 10 candidates. These will then offered pre-work training and exposure to the intervention as described above.
Advertisements target undergraduate students in health sciences who seek part-time work as a medical scribe and have a strong interest in a long-term career in the Health Industry - particularly those seeking a place in a post-graduate medical degree.
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
65 Years
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
Key exclusion criteria
Those not selected to proceed further in the training.

Study design
Purpose of the study
Educational / counselling / training
Allocation to intervention
Non-randomised trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
All subjects offered training will be enrolled in the study - enrolment is a condition of the offer of training
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
no randomisation
Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?


The people assessing the outcomes
The people analysing the results/data
Intervention assignment
Single group
Other design features
Phase
Not Applicable
Type of endpoint/s
Efficacy
Statistical methods / analysis

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Completed
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
9/08/2015
Actual
1/09/2015
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
1/09/2015
Actual
1/09/2015
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
Actual
28/02/2016
Sample size
Target
10
Accrual to date
Final
10
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
VIC
Recruitment hospital [1] 4025 0
Cabrini Hospital - Malvern - Malvern
Recruitment postcode(s) [1] 9946 0
3144 - Malvern

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 291623 0
Charities/Societies/Foundations
Name [1] 291623 0
Equity Trustees Limited
(AFSL No. 240975)
acting on behalf of several donors
Country [1] 291623 0
Australia
Primary sponsor type
Individual
Name
Dr Katherine Walker
Address
Emergency Department
Cabrini
183 Wattletree Rd
Malvern
VIC
3144
Country
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 290295 0
None
Name [1] 290295 0
Address [1] 290295 0
Country [1] 290295 0
Other collaborator category [1] 278518 0
Individual
Name [1] 278518 0
Mr Matt Johnson
Address [1] 278518 0
Cabrini Institute, 154 Wattletree Rd, Malvern, vic, 3144
Country [1] 278518 0
Australia

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Ethics committee name [1] 293154 0
Cabrini HREC
Ethics committee address [1] 293154 0
Cabrini Institute
154 Wattletree Rd
Malvern
3144
VIC
Ethics committee country [1] 293154 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 293154 0
29/06/2015
Approval date [1] 293154 0
16/07/2015
Ethics approval number [1] 293154 0
10-05-08-13

Summary
Brief summary
This is a pilot evaluation of the ability of a web and text-book based training program to train medical scribe students to be ready to commence work as a trainee medical scribe in an Emergency Department
Trial website
nil
Trial related presentations / publications
Publications:
Walker K (2017) The Feasibility evaluation of a pilot scribe-training program
in an Australian emergency department. Australian Health Review, first published early online March 9th 2017, DOI: 10.1071/AH16188
Walker, K. J. (2016) An economic evaluation of the costs of training a medical scribe to work in Emergency Medicine. Emerg Med J 33: 12 (865-869), DOI: 10.1136/emermed-2016-205934

Poster presentations:
Walker K (2016) Training medical scribes - A blinded evaluation of a training tool for preparing medical scribes for Emergency Department work in Australia. Cabrini Research Day, October 2016 (Melbourne); Annual Scientific Meeting, ACEM, 2016 (Queenstown).
Walker K (2016) A Cost-Analysis of training medical scribes to work in Emergency Medicine in Australia; Cabrini Research Day, October 2016 (Melbourne); Annual Scientific Meeting, ACEM, 2016 (Queenstown).
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 56914 0
Dr Katherine Walker
Address 56914 0
Emergency Department
Cabrini
183 Wattletree Rd
Malvern
3144
VIC
Country 56914 0
Australia
Phone 56914 0
+61431272262
Fax 56914 0
Email 56914 0
[email protected]
Contact person for public queries
Name 56915 0
Katherine Walker
Address 56915 0
Emergency Department
Cabrini
183 Wattletree Rd
Malvern
3144
VIC
Country 56915 0
Australia
Phone 56915 0
+61431272262
Fax 56915 0
Email 56915 0
[email protected]
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 56916 0
Katherine Walker
Address 56916 0
Emergency Department
Cabrini
183 Wattletree Rd
Malvern
3144
VIC
Country 56916 0
Australia
Phone 56916 0
+61431272262
Fax 56916 0
Email 56916 0
[email protected]

No information has been provided regarding IPD availability


What supporting documents are/will be available?

No Supporting Document Provided



Results publications and other study-related documents

Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.

Documents added automatically
No additional documents have been identified.