![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)
Learning Objective 1: The learner will be more knowledgeable about educational method on physical assessment skills.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be more knowledgeable about educational idea by use of learner-directing semi-automatic human patient simulators.
A purpose of this study was to explore effects of utilizing newly developed learner-directing semi-automatic human patient simulators for development of physical assessment skills, especially auscultation skill on lung sounds and heart sounds.
Methods:
To nurses and nursing students who participated the three times consecutive series of workshops for developing their physical assessment skills, by using newly developed learner-directed semi-automatic human patient simulators, evaluation examinations on auscultation skills on lung sounds and heart sounds had been repeated six times as follows: before initial workshop, just after initial workshop, just before second workshop, just after second workshop, just before third workshop and after third workshop.
Results:
In some lung sounds (wheezes, rhonchi, fine crackles, normal breath sound, bronchial breath sound, and absent of right lung sound), the more number of times of repeating lectures-practice-tests combinations were provided, the better the correct answer rates for auscultation skills on lung sounds were achieved. Regarding to rhonchi, wheezes and fine crackles, the more number of times of repeating evaluating examinations on auscultation skill were done, the better outcomes were. Even through a series of repeating lectures-practice-tests combination was provided, identifying locations of those abnormal lung sounds was shown to be difficult. Coarse crackles had been shown difficult to be distinguished with other lung sounds. Regarding to pleural friction rub, a repeating evaluation examination on auscultation skills did not improve the correct answer rate. Participants showed improving all heart sounds auscultation skills by using newly developed learner-directing semi-automatic human patient simulators.
Conclusion:
Newly developed self-directing learner-directing human patient simulators showed possibilities to make learner's physical assessment skills more effective and powerful.