Integrating technology in skills lab: Using smartphones for urinary catheter validation

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Medical Simulation
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• Students often experience anxiety during psychomotor skill validation, particularly for procedures like indwelling urinary catheter insertion.
• Traditional methods may not fully address student stress or optimize learning outcomes in skill acquisition.
• Nurse educators seek innovative strategies to improve student success across diverse learning environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate an innovative teaching strategy for psychomotor skill validation.
• To assess the integration of smartphone technology, self-evaluation, and peer feedback for indwelling urinary catheter skill validation.
• To evaluate student perceptions of this novel teaching approach.

Main Methods:

• Eighty-one nursing students participated in two 4-hour skills lab sessions.
• Students worked in peer pairs, utilizing smartphones to video record and refine their indwelling urinary catheter skills.
• Self-reflection and peer feedback were integral components of the learning process.

Main Results:

• Students reported that the integration of technology and peer feedback positively enhanced their learning experience.
• Participants noted a significant decrease in anxiety related to skill validation.
• While challenges existed, the benefits of the technology integration were perceived to outweigh the difficulties.

Conclusions:

• Smartphone technology, self-evaluation, and peer feedback can effectively enhance psychomotor skill acquisition in nursing education.
• This strategy offers a viable method to integrate technology and reflective practices into clinical skills labs.
• The approach holds implications for reducing student anxiety and improving overall learning outcomes in nursing programs.