Influence of Simulation Team Leads on Paramedic Student Cognitive Exam Scores

Introduction—The National Registry of EMTs now requires paramedic graduates to demonstrate skill competency through completion of a psychomotor competency portfolio which includes simulated team leads. This study examined the relationship between the number of simulated team leads (STLs) performed in lab and students’ cognitive exam scores as measured by the Fisdap PRE3 exam.

Hypothesis—Performance of higher numbers of STLs will positively influence summative cognitive exam scores.

Methods—Retrospective data were obtained from Fisdap, an online database for EMS and healthcare education, for “lab”-identified team leads between March 1, 2011 and February 7, 2017. A total of 1,212 students completed STLs and a PRE3 exam score. A Spearman rank correlation test compared the number of STLs a student completed with the student’s cognitive score on the PRE3 exam. The Spearman test was used instead of the more common Pearson correlation because the distribution of STLs was not normal and because Spearman is less sensitive to the presence of outliers.

Results—A weak but statistically significant correlation between the number of STLs and cognitive exam scores was identified (r= 0.28). Students who completed more than 100 STLs (n=394) had an average exam score of 76.48%, while students who completed 1 to 100 STLs (n=818) had an average exam score of 71.5%; p < 0.01. Students represented 485 programs (155 programs had students who performed >100 STLs.)

Conclusion—Completion of higher numbers of STLs had a positive correlation with cognitive scores on the PRE3 exam.