The effect of an e-learning module on health sciences students' venipuncture skill development.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Sciences

Background:

• Venipuncture is a crucial psychomotor skill in healthcare.
• E-learning offers a solution to limitations in traditional face-to-face healthcare education.
• This study evaluated e-learning's effectiveness in supplementing in-class venipuncture training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of an e-learning module on student performance in venipuncture.
• To compare the academic, self-confidence, and psychomotor competence of students receiving blended learning versus traditional training.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving 84 health sciences students divided into control (in-class only) and study (in-class + e-learning) groups.
• Assessment included self-confidence (Likert scale), academic competence (multiple-choice questionnaire), and psychomotor skills (video recordings).
• Nonparametric Mann-Whitney tests were used to analyze differences between groups.

Main Results:

• The study group showed significantly higher academic competence scores (p=0.017).
• Both groups reported increased self-confidence post-intervention, with no significant difference between them.
• No significant differences in psychomotor skills were observed between the control and study groups (p=0.428).

Conclusions:

• E-learning shows potential for enhancing academic competence when integrated with traditional learning methods.
• Current findings suggest e-learning may not significantly improve psychomotor skills in venipuncture.
• Further investigation is required to fully understand e-learning's role in developing psychomotor competencies in healthcare education.