Designing Wearable Catheterisation Trainers for Australian Medical Students

Abstract

Background: The female trainer that we describe in this study was developed in response to three concerns about existing commercial trainers available for learning the skill of urinary catheterisation. First, the part task trainers commercially available encourage a focus only on the psychomotor components of catheterisation. Second, students learning on existing commercial trainers complained of their ‘plastic’ nature, which reduced the realism of the experience. Third, existing trainers are very expensive, precluding their use by students unsupervised for self-directed learning practice. Methods: Year 2 medical students were invited to participate in the evaluation. Participants were randomised by coin-toss to practice with either the prototype new trainer first then an existing commercial part-task trainer or vice versa. They completed questionnaires before and after each practice session. Results: 105 students participated. Overwhelmingly, participants preferred the wearable to the non wearable trainer on a range of criteria and 93% of those who indicated a preference felt that the wearable trainer better prepared them to perform real catheterisation in the future. Discussion: Other data to be presented and participants’ direct comments indicate that both better simulation of human tissues and wearability by a simulated patient contributed to participants’ preference for the new trainer. The improved simulator offers the potential for students performing the procedure for the first time on hospital patients to be better prepared. Conclusion: The new trainer offers better simulation of urinary catheterisation in relation to both realism and the human dimensions of the procedure.