Playmobil, pressure and prioritisation: a simulation for stepping up to ST4

Transitioning to ST4 represents a pivotal step in anaesthetic training. Anaesthetists in training must advance their own clinical skills while learning to manage emergency workloads, prioritise limited resources, and coordinate theatre teams under pressure as a more senior resident anaesthetist.

While technical skills are well covered in training, structured education on non-technical decision-making and prioritisation remains limited. To address this, we developed a low-cost, tabletop simulation workshop using Playmobil figures and printed theatre schematics to recreate the pressures of an emergency on-call shift.

The exercise is aligned with multiple Stage 2 learning outcomes, including Team Working and Professional Behaviours and Communication, with a key focus on decision-making, delegation, leadership, and the real-world complexities of senior responsibility.