Clinic-based educational strategies utilized for practical training of common medical devices focusing on medical and nursing care for the elderly prior to formal on-site clinic training / 日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会誌

ABSTRACT

<b><i>Abstract</i></b><br><b>Objective</b> We investigated the usefulness of providing medical students with demonstrations and education for commonly used medical devices focusing on medical and nursing care for the elderly. Educational materials were also distributed, in addition to the input from the participation of paramedic assistants as various strategies for providing instruction, prior to formal on-site practical training at our clinic.<br><b>Methods</b> Forty-two 5th year medical students undertook a questionnaire survey regarding the education provided prior to on-site practical training, and which was performed after training was completed at our clinic.<br><b>Results</b> All students responded that demonstrations of medical devices were “easy to understand”, while 81% responded that the distribution of materials was “necessary” and 97.6% responded that explanations from paramedics were either “important” or “necessary”. In addition, 95.2% reported that the explanations given prior to training “enhanced” their understanding of nursing care insurance facilities. In respect of medical procedures such as percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube management, while 97.6% of students reported that “the explanations given prior to practical training were adequate”, nevertheless 50% reported that “they still did not feel comfortable in actual practice even though the explanations given prior to training were adequate” .<br><b>Conclusion</b> The approaches used at our clinic for education given prior to on-site practical training, were considered beneficial for medical students. However, some of them did not feel comfortable performing medical procedures even though adequate explanations had been provided, indicating the need to create a program that promotes greater confidence in performing practical procedures among medical students in the future.