Effectiveness of Simulation- Versus Didactic Video-Based Learning to Teach Advanced Lung Isolation Techniques

Mastery of lung isolation is crucial for optimal cardiothoracic anesthesia education. The authors tested the hypothesis that simulation- is more effective than didactic video-based learning (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) to teach anesthesiology fellows advanced lung isolation techniques.

A prospective randomized study.

At a single academic heart center, simulation laboratory.

Thirty anesthesiology fellows with equivalent prior experience in basic lung isolation techniques.

Randomized participants received 1 of 2 structured educational interventions of equivalent duration designed to teach advanced lung isolation skills, a simulation workshop, or a video-based didactic session.

To assess Bloom's taxonomy domains, performance measurements included pre- and postintervention cognitive tests and affective surveys and a postintervention psychomotor task (time to complete lung isolation). Changes in test and survey scores and time to completion were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test; p values < 0.05 were considered significant. Improvements in lung isolation learning assessments were greater in the simulation group, but significant differences only existed in the affective domain. Specifically, affective survey score increases were greater in the simulation group (simulation- versus video-based didactic: +19.0 v +4.0; p ≤ 0.001), whereas there was no significant difference in cognitive pre- to posttest scores (simulation- versus video-based: +28.6 v +19.1, p = 0.23), and time to achieve lung isolation (simulation- versus video-based: 32 v 36 seconds, p = 0.46).

Although greater affective learning of advanced lung isolation skills occurred with simulation-based compared to didactic video-based education, the authors found no differences between the teaching approaches in cognitive and psychomotor learning among anesthesiology fellows.