To evaluate the effectiveness of the Actronics Interactive Learning System to teach the psychomotor skills of advanced airway management compared to the traditional method of lecture/demonstration.

The study was a nonrandomized, nonequivalent comparison group design of a convenience sample of 86 American Heart Association (AHA), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) students, who obtained instruction in airway management by the interactive videodisc (IVD) learning system (n = 41), or by the traditional method of demonstration/return demonstration (n = 45). The evaluation criteria for the students were based on the number of attempts required to perform successfully endotracheal (ET) intubation and esophageal obturator airway (EOA) insertion.

No statistically significant differences in the performance of ET insertion between the IVD and the traditional method of instruction could be demonstrated. However, initial certifiers for ACLS learning EOA insertion by the IVD method had a treatment effect (p = 0.004) compared to ACLS students learning by the traditional method. This treatment effect was not noted with ET intubation and EOA insertion for students seeking recertification. In a post-test satisfaction questionnaire, 34 IVD students reported satisfaction with learning airway management using this instructional method, but also expressed a preference to have an ACLS instructor available.

This study highlights the role of IVD in teaching the complex skills of advanced airway management.