Successful intravenous catheterization by medical students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Skills Training
• Procedural Competency

Background:

• Intravenous (IV) catheter placement is a fundamental medical procedure.
• IV placement can induce anxiety in medical students, representing their initial patient care experience.
• Understanding factors influencing IV placement success and student improvement rates is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors impacting medical students' IV catheter placement success rates.
• To determine the rate at which students improve their IV placement skills.
• To identify predictors of successful IV catheter insertion among medical trainees.

Main Methods:

• A confidential web-based survey was administered to 367 third and fourth-year medical students at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.
• Data collection occurred over a two-week period in July 2015.
• Survey responses analyzed to correlate prior experience and preparation with IV placement success.

Main Results:

• A 49.0% response rate (180/367) was achieved.
• Significant percentages of students lacked IV placement opportunities (65.5% of M3s, 21.8% of M4s).
• Prior experience as laboratory researchers (86.6% success) and emergency medical technicians (81.4% success) correlated with higher success rates (P < 0.05).
• Pre-procedural preparation (reading, videos, lectures) did not enhance success rates.
• Success rates improved from 47% on the first attempt to 86% by the fifth attempt.

Conclusions:

• Many medical students have limited opportunities for IV catheter placement practice.
• Prior hands-on experience, particularly as an emergency medical technician or laboratory researcher, significantly boosts IV placement success.
• Theoretical preparation alone does not improve IV success rates.
• Students demonstrate rapid skill improvement, achieving high success rates after approximately five attempts.