Pediatrics Simulation Games: Learn emergency pediatrics by playing.

The University of Trieste, in the final against the University of Udine, took home first prize at the seventh edition of the "Pediatric Simulation Games," an event organized with the support of the Latina Local Health Authority (ASL Latina, under the direction of Sabrina Cenciarelli, who opened the event). Young Italian and international resident doctors compete in simulated pediatric emergency room emergencies. The games, conceived in 2017 by Riccardo Lubrano, Head of Pediatrics and Neonatology at the Santa Maria Goretti Hospital and a professor at Sapienza University of Rome, were hosted this year at a new venue, the Einaudi Higher Education Institute, located at Piazza Aldo Manuzio 10 in Latina.

The final featured an all-Friulian derby , with the University of Trieste competing against the University of Udine. In the third- and fourth-place matchup, teams from the University of Florence-Meyer and the University of Bologna Alma Mater Studiorum faced off, finishing third and fourth, respectively.

During the awards ceremony, prizes were also awarded for various specialties : the winner for "Best CPR (Best Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Management)" was the University of Milan La Statale – Clinica De Marchi; the medal for "Best Teamwork" went to the University of Perugia; and the "Best Airway Management" award went to the University of Verona.

New to this year's edition is the award for the “Best Visiting Team” , which went to the Spanish team from the Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet de Zaragoza.

Four days of simulations, nearly 200 scenarios, and 35 teams competing. "We're very pleased with how this edition went," Lubrano comments with satisfaction, "which confirms the trend, already observed in the past, of an improvement in the way teams approach scenarios, which in turn become increasingly complex. This year, we also included clinical cases related to poisoning or acute complications of rheumatic-traumatic diseases: every year we include something more, to encourage the students to return home and study. This is also because, typically, the tutors for future teams are the residents who have already participated, who prepare them based on their experience." This is precisely the primary goal of the PSGs: to standardize training in emergency pediatrics throughout our country and in some foreign universities thanks to a very high scientific level, so that every child in critical condition can receive the same levels of care everywhere.

"For next year, we'd like to continue improving the event ," Professor Lubrano anticipates, "by focusing more on non-invasive ventilation and pursuing technical growth. On the other hand, we'd like to avoid being self-referential, but rather increase the exchange with other organizations. To this end, we're working to increase the number of participating teams from abroad. The games are a constant work in progress, because for us, the important thing isn't who wins, but rather that the technical and cultural level of Italian emergency pediatrics is raised."