Is DVD assisted training as effective as face to face training in educating student therapists on an ergonomic method of using a hoist?

Funded by the National Academy for the Integration of Research Teaching and Learning (NAIRTL), this year long project focused on the creation and evaluation of a DVD tool in the education of Occupational Therapy (OT) students in an ergonomic method of using a hoist. With expertise in the prescription of assistive technology to alleviate the effects of disability, Occupational Therapists are prominent professionals in Health Services, in recommending and providing education in the use of hoists for people with disabilities and their carers. Undergraduate programmes are therefore required to teach students these key clinical competencies, to equip them with the skills in meeting this need. This project sought to challenge traditional models in teaching these clinical skills to undergraduate student therapists by determining if DVD assisted training in hoist use was as effective as traditional face to face methods. Integrating research, teaching and learning into the undergraduate occupational therapy curriculum, this project was led by a fourth year Occupational Therapy student. A pre-test post-test study design was employed to evaluate the learning tool which was used with a cohort of twelve students in the fourth year class. The results of the research have illustrated that the DVD tool was as effective as face-to-face teaching methods in communicating these clinical skills to students. It can therefore be concluded that DVD tools are valuable in the education of health sciences students in clinical skills in preparation for practice.