Learning endotracheal intubation in a clinical skills learning center: A quantitative study

This study aimed to develop statistical models describing the. lean-Ling of endotracheal intubation (ETI). We collected data from 100 subjects undergo ing ETI training with intubatable medical models and manikins (airway train ers). Trainees initially viewed a video about ETI and an instructor demonst rated the technique. Subjects then made up to 17 supervised trials. Each tr ial was scored as a success or failure; this score was the primary outcome used in analyses. Random effects and population-averaged logit models, and a learning model intended to quantify the relative contributions of failed and successful trials to the learning process, were fitted to the data. The logit models provided evidence of 0 differences in difficulty between diff erent airway trainers and differences in success rate related to previous E TI experience. Trainees became familiar with an airway trainer after multip le trials, as demonstrated by a 50% decrease in the odds of successful ETI when starting on a new trainer. The learning model indicated that a trainee learns about as much from I successful ETI as from 12 (95% confidence inte rval, 2-23) failed trials. The results demonstrate the feasibility of stati stical modeling of the learning of ETI and provide insight into the learnin g process.