Simulation Curriculum

At Cascades East, we use a state-of-the-art high-fidelity simulation center to prepare residents for the diverse critical illnesses and emergencies encountered in rural practice. Our curriculum emphasizes High Acuity, Low Occurrence (HALO) events—clinical situations that are uncommon but require immediate recognition and expert management.

Residents participate in a longitudinal simulation curriculum designed to build confidence, technical skills, leadership, and team communication through realistic, hands-on training.

Our simulation curriculum includes:

• Annual Code Blue Training: Every resident participates in a half-day simulation course focused on cardiac arrest management, ACLS algorithms, crisis resource management, and team leadership.

• Intern Simulation Boot Camp: Incoming interns receive a dedicated half-day of immersive simulation training covering a broad range of HALO emergencies early in residency.

• Bimonthly Simulation Workshops featuring rotating emergency medicine, critical care, pediatric, and obstetric scenarios.

Core simulation topics include:

• Obstetric hemorrhage and maternal stabilization

• Difficult deliveries and neonatal resuscitation

• Tachycardia and bradycardia recognition and management

• Emergency department "nightmare" scenarios and undifferentiated critically ill patients

• Pediatric respiratory failure

• Pediatric medical emergencies

• Psychiatric emergencies, including agitation, aggression, delirium, and behavioral crises

• Intensive care unit emergencies, including ventilator management and critical care stabilization

By focusing on realistic, team-based simulation, our residents gain the experience and confidence needed to manage life-threatening emergencies before encountering them in clinical practice—preparing them to deliver exceptional care in rural emergency departments, hospitals, and critical access settings.