Abstract:
Background: The peripheral venous catheter is the most frequently used medical device in hospital care to administer intravenous treatment or to take blood samples by introducing a catheter into a vein. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of motor imagery associated with actual training on the learning of peripheral venous catheter insertion into a simulated venous system.
Method: This was a prospective monocentre study in 3rd year medical students. Forty medical students were assigned to the experimental group (n = 20) performing both real practice and motor imagery of peripheral venous catheter insertion or to the control group (n = 20) trained through real practice only. We also recruited a reference group of 20 professional nurses defining the benchmark for a target performance.
Results: The experimental group learned the peripheral venous catheter insertion faster than the control group in the beginning of learning phase (p < 0.001), reaching the expected level after 4 sessions (p = .87) whereas the control group needed 5 sessions to reach the same level (p = .88). Both groups were at the same level at the end of the scheduled training.
Conclusions: Therefore, motor imagery improved professional motor skills learning, and limited the time needed to reach the expected level. Motor imagery may strengthen technical medical skill learning.
Reference:
Collet C, Hajj ME, Chaker R, Bui-Xuan B, Lehot JJ, Hoyek N. Effect of motor imagery and actual practice on learning professional medical skills. BMC Med Educ. 2021 Jan 18;21(1):59. doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02424-7. PMID: 33461539; PMCID: PMC7814611.