High-fidelity simulation increases obstetric self-assurance and skills in undergraduate medical students

Abstract

Objective: Teaching intrapartum care is one of the most challenging tasks in undergraduate medical education. Highfi delity obstetric simulators might support students ' learning experience. The specifi c educational impact of these simulators compared with traditional methods of model-based obstetric teaching has not yet been determined. Study design: We randomly assigned 46 undergraduate medical students to be taught using either a high-fi delity simulator or a scale wood-and-leather phantom. Their self-assessments were evaluated using a validated questionnaire. We assessed obstetric skills and asked students to solve obstetric paper cases. Main outcome measures: Assessment of fi delity-specifi c teaching impact on procedural knowledge, motivation, and interest in obstetrics as well as obstetric skills using high-and low-fi delity training models. Results: High-fi delity simulation specifi cally improved students ' feeling that they understood both the physiology of parturition and the obstetric procedures. Students in the simulation group also felt better prepared for obstetric house jobs and performed better in obstetric skills evaluations. However, the two groups made equivalent obstetric decisions. Conclusion:This study provides fi rst data on the impact of high-fi delity simulation in an undergraduate setting.

Can we teach core clinical obstetrics and gynaecology skills using low fidelity simulation in an interprofessional setting?

“…Teaching these skills on patients often results in a heightened anxiety and apprehension in both the patient and the student. Hence, simulation is now being introduced as a part of undergraduate teaching in medical schools, which has demonstrated not only improvement in skills and knowledge but also interest and motivation …”

Simulation of childbirth improves clinical management capacity and self-confidence in medical students

“…This aspect has not extensively been reported in the literature, especially applied to simulation and is still an important element that creates greater discomfort even in experienced, non-specialist operators. Although Scholz and colleagues14 evaluated students’ feelings of the understanding of both the physiology of parturition and that of obstetric procedures, there are no studies focusing on the evaluation of participants’ degree of self-confidence on facing a delivery, by themselves. For this reason, we created a self-assessment test, which was applied at different stages of the study.…”

Obstetric and Midwifery Education: Context and Trends

“…Simulation can address learning of procedural skills (Nestel et al 2011), using part-task trainers or modern-day realistic simulators (Scholz et al 2012), communication and team-working skills (using human patient simulation) or both using a hybrid technique (Siassakos et al 2010). It can identify and correct system errors by simulating organization processes (Cheng et al 2015), improve clinical performance by simulating clinical problems, and improve team-based communication skills (Watson et al 2016) by simulating real-life situations like conflict, breaking bad news, ethical dilemmas, or human error (Azadeh et al 2016).…”