Simulation of tracheal intubation for medical students. The effects of anticipatory study

BACKGROUNDClinical simulation allows the acquisition of procedural skills among medical students. The anticipatory study of these skills may improve the efficiency of simulation sessions. AIMTo Compare two anticipatory study guides in the simulation of airway management, in a cohort of medical students from Chile. MATERIAL AND METHODSFifth year medical students were randomly assigned to prepare the simulation of tracheal intubation with a theoretical guide, an audiovisual guide, and a control group without study. The skills acquired were evaluated in a simulated scenario. RESULTSAll groups increased their successful orotracheal intubation (OTI) rate and decreased the time to achieve a successful OTI after each attempt. The study group with a theoretical guide had the higher rate of success in the 1st OTI attempt without feedback. In contrast, the group without any anticipatory study had more failed attempts (1st and 2nd attempt), achieving their first successful OTI in the 3rd attempt after feedback. CONCLUSIONSStudy guides improve practice effectiveness. Our results indicate that the best results are obtained by simulation accompanied with immediate directed feedback and opportunities to repeat the procedures, independent of the type of anticipatory study.