On March 2, Step Up Together launched our new
Quarterly Community Debriefs with a discussion focused on First Stage Fetal Bradycardia and intrapartum transfer from community settings.
Community Debriefs are 60-minute sessions that bring together professionals across the maternity care system—community midwives, hospital teams, EMS personnel, educators, and quality improvement leaders—to reflect on what happens when teams run Step Up Together transfer drills in their own settings.
Several participants shared their experiences running the First Stage Fetal Bradycardia Full Transfer Drill, a scenario designed to test how teams recognize fetal emergencies, initiate escalation, and coordinate intrapartum transfer for further monitoring and potential emergency delivery.
Here are a few key takeaways from the discussion.
Running a meaningful drill takes preparation—and
every role contributes to the learning experience.
Clinical providers, drill observers, facilitators, and even the person playing the patient help create the realism that allows teams to test communication and decision-making under pressure. In one team’s experience, the drill did not unfold as intended because the simulated patient was not well prepared for the scenario.
The takeaway: strong drills start with strong preparation.
If you are planning a drill, check out our blog post: Preparing the Drill Patient for Optimal Drill Fidelity.
