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Adjusting Training Task Difficulty to Enhance Skill Transfer in Venipuncture: Evidence from Video Analysis
Jinling Yang1, Minghui Yi1, Fei Wu1
1Medical Integration and Practice Center, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, People's Republic of China.
Advances in Medical Education and Practice
|May 8, 2026
Summary
Adding pressure during medical training, such as through standardized patients or noise, significantly improves skill transfer in venipuncture (needle insertion into a vein). This enhanced procedural efficiency leads to faster task completion in medical students.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Skill Acquisition
- Procedural Training
Background:
- Effective training is crucial for developing proficiency in medical procedures like venipuncture.
- Skill transfer, the ability to apply learned skills in new contexts, is a key outcome of medical training.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how modifying venipuncture training difficulty impacts skill transfer in medical students.
- To determine if introducing pressure during late-stage training enhances procedural efficiency and skill retention.
Main Methods:
- Medical students were divided into control and experimental groups for a 4-day venipuncture training program.
- The experimental group experienced increased difficulty via standardized patients or noise in later training stages, while the control group trained in a consistent environment.
- Skill transfer was assessed one day (Test 1) and one week (Test 2) post-training, with performance videotaped.
Main Results:
- The experimental group showed significantly shorter puncture times at Test 1 and shorter total task, skin disinfection, puncture, and tourniquet banding times at Test 2.
- While overall performance scores did not differ, doctor-patient communication scores showed significant differences at Test 1.
- Procedural efficiency, particularly in task execution times, was notably improved in the experimental group.
Conclusions:
- Adjusting training difficulty by introducing pressure enhances skill transfer in venipuncture.
- Increased training difficulty improves procedural efficiency, leading to better skill retention and application.
- This study highlights the potential of adaptive training strategies to optimize medical skill acquisition.
