Exploring the Impact of Varied Design Approaches and Materials in Respiratory Therapy Education

Introduction

For students, knowledge of human anatomy is foundational to their learning of physiology, pathology, pharmacology, physical examination, and internal medicine and surgery.¹ Three-dimensional (3D) printing holds much promise as a teaching aid for human anatomy, as part of a general trend toward integrating digital technology into human anatomy education. In contrast to traditional manufacturing methods, 3D printing can be used to rapidly produce customized small-sized prints and is less expensive than large-scale production.² Thus, 3D-printed models are used in medical education.³ Anatomy is a core course for undergraduate majors in respiratory therapy, and students may struggle to digest the large amount of information. Previous reports have evaluated the use of 3D-printed medical educational models for the instruction of nursing students and health care professionals,^4,5 but few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have investigated the effects of a 3D-printed bronchial tree model on the medical education of respiratory therapy students. This study conducted an RCT to investigate whether a 3D-printed bronchial tree model induced greater learning efficacy and student satisfaction than a traditional slide-based presentation among respiratory therapy students.