Abstract

BackgroundSimulation-based medical education has been widely used in medical skills training; however, the effectiveness and long-term outcome of simulation-based training in thoracentesis requires further investigation. The purpose of this study was to assess the learning curve of simulation-based thoracentesis training, study skills retention and transfer of knowledge to a clinical setting following simulation-based education intervention in thoracentesis procedures.MethodsFifty-two medical students were enrolled in this study. Each participant performed five supervised trials on the simulator. Participant's performance was assessed by performance score (PS), procedure time (PT), and participant's confidence (PC). Learning curves for each variable were generated. Long-term outcome of the training was measured by the retesting and clinical performance evaluation 6 months and 1 year, respectively, after initial training on the simulator.ResultsSignificant improvements in PS, PT, and PC were noted among the first 3 to 4 test trials (p < 0.05). A plateau for PS, PT, and PC in the learning curves occurred in trial 4. Retesting 6 months after training yielded similar scores to trial 5 (p > 0.05). Clinical competency in thoracentesis was improved in participants who received simulation training relative to that of first year medical residents without such experience (p < 0.05).ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that simulation-based thoracentesis training can significantly improve an individual's performance. The saturation of learning from the simulator can be achieved after four practice sessions. Simulation-based training can assist in long-term retention of skills and can be partially transferred to clinical practice.

Highlights

  • Simulation-based medical education has been widely used in medical skills training; the effectiveness and long-term outcome of simulation-based training in thoracentesis requires further investigation

  • This study demonstrates that inexperienced medical students are able to master the necessary skills to competently perform thoracentesis via simulation-based trials

  • This study suggests that simulationbased thoracentesis training could be transferred to an actual clinical setting

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Summary

Introduction

Simulation-based medical education has been widely used in medical skills training; the effectiveness and long-term outcome of simulation-based training in thoracentesis requires further investigation. The purpose of this study was to assess the learning curve of simulation-based thoracentesis training, study skills retention and transfer of knowledge to a clinical setting following simulation-based education intervention in thoracentesis procedures. It is important to learn to what extent simulation-based training can be transferred to actual clinical skill. All these issues are very important for creating a successful training program. The purpose of this study was to analyze the learning curve and skill retention of simulation-based training for thoracentesis

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