Teaching Health Care Students the Radial Arterial Puncture Procedure

The radial artery puncture is a frequently ordered medical procedure for patients requiring blood gas analysis. Deviating from the proper procedure increases the likelihood of error and jeopardizes patient safety. The teaching methodology for the radial artery puncture is rarely addressed in the medical literature. First-year respiratory care students enrolled in a clinical practice course participated in an expanded curriculum on arterial puncture technique. The new five-step curriculum included: 1) a face-to-face lecture, 2) radial artery localization, 3) blunt-tipped needle simulation, 4) manikin arm puncture, and 5) a peer assessment video. Students participated in an inter-rater reliability exercise for step five. The multi-step process for teaching the arterial puncture stressed process over outcome. Students were required to master each step with a satisfactory evaluation to successfully pass the unit. Students also demonstrated high inter-rater evaluation scores of a peer video of the arterial puncture. Additional research is needed to determine if widespread application of the curriculum across other respiratory care programs and other healthcare disciplines is possible. The detailed report of our new curriculum offers other academic researchers the ability to formally study its usefulness.