Background The Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) profession is fast growing and at an all-time high, with over 56 thousand licensed professionals. Nurse Anesthetist programs are tasked with developing a high academic curriculum with a strong anatomy course at its core. In a hospital setting, CRNAs are considered the airway experts that respond to airway emergencies, called to perform Transesophageal Echocardiograms (TEEs), Point of Care Ultrasounds (POCUs) including high risk procedures such as Peripheral Nerve Blocks (PNB), spinals and epidurals. Hence, a sound working knowledge of anatomical structures and their relationship to surrounding structures is vital. To bridge the gap in knowledge and comprehension of anatomy, several curriculums are starting to employ the use of virtual reality or 3D technology as an adjunct to learning anatomy. The Anatomage Table (AT) is the first 3D virtual dissection table that allows users to visualize anatomy at the highest level of accuracy. The AT is a fairly new technology developed in 2004 with limited research published to address its usefulness in graduate/undergraduate nursing programs. No research was found that evaluates the effectiveness and impact of the AT in learning anatomy in the Nurse Anesthesia Program.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness and perceived benefits of the AT to improve the knowledge of clinical anatomy and enhance performance of point-of-care assessments and interventional anesthesia procedures in first year student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNA) during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Methods: This was a two-part project, a sequential explanatory mixed methods design. Quantitative and qualitative data were evaluated using a pre and post-test, a self-efficacy tool, an open-ended questionnaire, and a PNB simulation exam.

Utilizing prebriefing video teaching airway anatomy and its innervations was published for students to view prior to attending a hands-on simulation. A pretest was given prior to the simulation experience followed by a posttest, a self-efficacy survey and an open-ended questionnaire. Subsequently, the AT was used as an adjunct to teach interscalene block prior to their PNB simulation exam. The previous cohort who received teaching using traditional methods (lecture, mannikin, cadaver) was used as a comparison group.

Results: Mean knowledge scores increased from 9.40 ± 2.46 in the pretest to 10.56 ± 2.42 in the posttest (p=.052). p>0.05. However, students reported the AT as an effective teaching tool that enhanced their knowledge of anatomy, increased retention, and had a positive impact on clinical preparedness.

Creator

• Offiah, Chidimma N.

• Hogo, Precious

Language

• English

Keyword

• Virtual reality

• Anatomy Education

• Anatomage

• 3D Visualization

• 3-dimensional education

• three-dimensional image

• imaging

Date created

• 2023

Resource type

• Research Paper

Rights statement

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/