A multicentre investigation of organ and tissue donation education for critical care residents

PurposeTo describe critical care medicine residents’ training, expertise, and skills regarding organ and tissue donation processes and procedures.MethodsWe undertook a qualitative multicentre study and employed a purposive sample of program directors, physicians, nurses, residents, and organ donation leaders from all nine academic intensive care unit (ICU) training centres (five adult, four pediatric) in Ontario (n = 71). Interviews, conducted by telephone between December 2015 and March 2016, were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data collection and analysis were performed using an iterative process and continued until saturation was achieved.ResultsFive main themes were identified: 1) gaps in residents’ knowledge for both neurologic determination of death (NDD) and circulatory determination of death (DCD) cases; 2) commitment to the provision of organ and tissue donation training; 3) limited experiential learning (NDD and DCD); 4) challenges related to the provision of training on organ donation and need for a standardized curriculum; and 5) communication with family members. Overall, this study showed system-level gaps in training resulting from the lack of a standardized provincial curriculum on organ donation.ConclusionsQualitative data corroborated that residents need more exposure to clinical cases, especially regarding DCD donors. A standardized education curriculum would be beneficial for all residents within the ICU. Developing a better shared understanding of the donation process will improve team communication and performance, translate into a better end-of-life experience for families, and potentially result in increased donation rates.