AEM education and training
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In the emergency department (ED), critical events, including death and severe illness, are not uncommon. Critical events involving children, while less frequent, may be especially distressing. Debriefing following a critical event may serve several purposes: review of team performance, education, identification of errors, emotional support, and planning for future events. Debriefing skills and habits learned during training may be carried forward throughout an emergency physician's career. This study evaluates how educators in emergency medicine (EM) view debriefing after pediatric critical events and identifies barriers to use of debriefing in postgraduate training programs. ⋯ Program leaders in both EM and PEM believe that debriefing after pediatric critical events is important for training. Barriers to debriefing specific to the ED setting should be explored to optimize the implementation of this practice.