A study of the cost-effectiveness of providing psychomotor practice in teaching intravenous infusion techniques

Does psychomotor practice affect the student's ability to perform venipuncture? This was the primary question in a study conducted to compare two versions of an instructional program--a no-practice version and a costly version that involved practice on the simulated arm. The initial study was composed of 40 (20 each group) Junior nursing students enrolled in a baccalaureate program. The instructional program for both groups included a handout of the task-by-task description of the procedure; a performance check list, a 10-minute color videotape demonstrating the entire process, and a live demonstration on a simulated arm. Each group took a post test which covered the cognitive aspects of the task. The practice group was able to practice on the simulated arm prior to evaluation on a live subject. The cognitive scores for both groups were near 90% and the performance scores above 80%. Since there was no significant difference between the groups the study was repeated with another group of students from the same school. This group differed slightly from the original group in that they had no experience with venipuncture. The second study contained 34 students and the cognitive scores were 91% for both groups and above 80% for the performance scores. The results indicated that the least costly version was equally effective and presents nursing education with an opportunity to evaluate skills teaching to determine the most effective, efficient and/or economical method to teach skills.