The Effect of Simulation Teaching Method on Midwifery Students' Knowledge and Skills of Vaginal Examination in Labor: A Randomized Controlled Study

Two skills, abdominal palpation and vaginal examination, are used to clinically monitor the progress of labor. Vaginal examination is the most accepted method of measuring the progress of labor. Vaginal examination, which is routinely applied in the evaluation of the progress of labor, is an important part of midwifery care. However, the accuracy level of vaginal examination for new students is reported to be low. This basic skill is appropriate for women in labor a learned tactile/tactile one that requires consistency to manage is skill. Therefore, it cannot be learned through observation alone; In order to acquire this skill, students must perform a large number of vaginal examinations in women who have given birth. The usual/classic training technique for teaching vaginal examination is that the midwifery student performs the vaginal examination on the woman in labor under the supervision of an experienced obstetrician, then the experienced obstetrician repeats this examination to determine the accuracy of the trainee student's assessment.

Teaching method with simulation models is very important in learning this basic midwifery skill. Simulation is a teaching and learning method that creates an artificial or theoretical experience, engaging the student in an activity that reflects real-life conditions without the risk-taking consequences of real conditions. In other words, it is a teaching approach based on a model developed in accordance with reality to support learning. Simulation is actually ethical in order not to harm the patient in practice is a must. Simulation-based learning improves the understanding, retention and active use of knowledge and skills, reduces the student's pre-application anxiety, and increases self-confidence. It is seen that simulation, which has been widely used in medical education in recent years, is also used as a teaching method in the development of practice skills of midwifery students. There are several studies in the literature evaluating the effect of simulation training on students' vaginal examination skills. Teaching obstetric vaginal examination techniques to medical students conducted to evaluate the benefits of simulation training vaginal examination of students receiving simulation training in a study accuracy is important according to students who did not receive simulation training was found to be high. In this study, it was concluded that simulation training helped inexperienced students improve their vaginal examination skills before performing such procedures on real patients. In the study of Abbas et al. (2019), interns who performed simulated examination showed significantly higher accuracy in vaginal examination evaluations than the control group. This study was planned to evaluate the effect of simulation teaching method on the knowledge and skills of vaginal examination in labor in midwifery students.

Type of Study: The study was planned as a randomized controlled trial.

Place and Time of the Research: The research will be carried out at Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Faculty of Health Sciences, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Health Research and Application Hospital and Tokat Provincial Health Directorate Tokat State Hospital between 10.10.2022-10.06.2023.

Research Tokat It will be held between 10.10.2022 and 10.06.2023 at Gaziosmanpaşa University Faculty of Health Sciences, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Health Research and Application Hospital and Tokat Provincial Health Directorate Tokat State Hospital.