Objective: To validate an internally developed part-task trainer for training abdominal paracentesis (AP) to fifth-year medical students (MS), and to evaluate participant confidence level and perceived benefit compared between before and after a hands-on AP workshop among MS.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Siriraj Hospital between February 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019. The model was designed to closely simulate the important characteristics of the abdomen so that trainees could learn and practice shifting dullness examination and AP. The target of evaluation was that 80% of participants would rate the model as good to very good. MS completed both the pre- and poststructured abdominal AP self-evaluation with 0 to 10 for each item.

Results: The model was validated by 15 residents and 41 MS. Almost all participants rated the model as good to very good for ‘simulated human abdomen’ and ‘ability to perform the process’, with a range of 85.7% to 100%. Among the 177 MS evaluations, both pre- and post-workshop, the median confidence in ‘performing the procedure’ was significantly increased from pre-workshop (5.0) to post-workshop (8.0) (p<0.001). The inexperienced group improved their level of confidence significantly more than the experienced group (p<0.001). Competency examination revealed that 99.2% of assessed MS had skill retention.

Conclusion: The evaluated model was shown to be a valid tool for teaching and practicing AP. A hands-on structured workshop using this model is effective for improving MS performance in AP.

Keywords: Abdominal model; Abdominal paracentesis; Part-task trainer; Abdominal paracentesis workshop

DOI: 10.35755/jmedassocthai.2022.04.13294

Received 6 January 2022 | Revised 28 February 2022 | Accepted 9 March 2022