The use of mental practice in pelvic examination instruction.

The purpose of the research reported in this article was to test the effects of mental practice on clinical skill acquisition. The clinical skill to be acquired was the pelvic examination. Four instructional designs provided learning experiences for 160 second-year medical students at the University of Washington. The usual instructional sequence was the control, and three experimental sequences incorporated mental practice at premotor, postmotor, and combined premotor and postmotor stages of skill acquisition. Mental practice was facilitated by the use by students of audiotapes and headphones. Learner performance measures consisted of the evaluation of student ability to list the examination sequence, evaluations of an actual pelvic examination write-up, including both sequencing and findings, and observation ratings of skill performance. Mental practice produced better performance on the ability to list the examination sequence and the ability to record findings than no mental practice. Methods for providing mental practice created an orderly and efficient learning environment. Students found it helpful.