Heart sound simulation: how useful for critical care nurses?

Forty critical care nurses participated in a 2-hour teaching program using a heart sound simulator to increase skill in recognition of heart sounds. Mean test scores increased 10 points from the pretest to the first posttest (t = 11.9, p = 0.0001), and this increase was maintained on the second posttest 3 weeks later. Medical intensive care unit and coronary care nurses scored higher than the other critical care nurses. There was a low correlation between recognition of sounds and years of critical care experience. The correlation between the subjects' self-rating of knowledge of heart sounds and their actual skills was also low. These findings suggest that a similar teaching program might be useful for critical care nurses.