Mental Imagery to Enhance Procedural Skills in Peripheral Venous Catheterization

Mental Imagery to Enhance Procedural Skills in Peripheral Venous Catheterization: A Randomized Simulation Study in Medical Students

Peripheral venous catheter insertion has a slow learning curve, and is rarely performed by medical students. Most medical interns do not master this procedure independently at the start of their residency.

It's a painful procedure for the patients, and therefore unsuitable for "in vivo" training at the patient's bedside For this type of procedure, it would appear necessary to develop alternative teaching methods, as well as pedagogical tools that can modify the learning curve to make it faster.

Mental imagery is a technique that involves creating vivid, detailed mental images in the mind. It is often used in a variety of contexts, such as mental preparation, stress management, learning or goal achievement Initially used in mental preparation for sports, it made its appearance as a pedagogical tool in the medical field in the 2010s, with several studies demonstrating its value in learning procedural gestures (training in laparoscopic surgery, cystoscopy).

The aim of our study is to investigate the impact of a mental imagery session on peripheral venous catheter placement success in 5th-year medical students, on a simulation mannequin.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Simulation Training; Mental Imagery; Peripheral Venous Catheterization
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Mental Imagery

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 96
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Nîmes, France
    • Nîmes University Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 5th-year medical student at the Nîmes medical school taking part in the peripheral venous catheter insertion training workshop
• No other conditions required.

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control; Insertion of a peripheral venous catheter on a simulation mannequin after theoretical video instruction
Experimental: Mental Imagery; Insertion of a peripheral venous catheter on a simulation mannequin after theoretical video instruction and mental visualization session	Other: Mental Imagery; Placement of a peripheral venous catheter on a simulation mannequin after a mental visualization session

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
First puncture success rate	Successful peripheral venous catheterization on first puncture, with no complications	30 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Revised Mental Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ)-3 variation	Change in Revised MIQ-3 score (mental visualization performance score) before and after the workshop. From 7 to 56.	30 minutes
Revised Mental Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ)-3 comparison	Comparison of the revised Mental Imagery Questionnaire-3 score (mental visualization performance score) between "mental visualization" and "control" groups. From 7 to 56	30 minutes
Puncture number	Comparison of puncture number between groups	30 minutes
Procedure complications	Comparison of number of complications; Arterial puncture; Failure; Non-functioning IV infusion	30 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 10, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 10, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): April 17, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: MI-24.11.07

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No