Table 2. Resident Performance During the Final Skills Assessment

Variable	Transverse Approach	Oblique Approach	Longitudinal Approach	P Value
Residents' preferred approach to central venous access, % (95% CI)				0.01
First choice	87.5^{^a} (78.4-93.6)	12.5^{^b} (6.4-21.6)	0.0^{^b} (0.0-3.4)
Second choice	9.7^{^a} (4.5-18.1)	44.4^{^b} (33.4-56.0)	45.8^{^b} (34.7-57.3)
Third choice	2.8^{^a} (0.6-8.6)	43.1^{^b} (32.1-54.6)	54.2^{^b} (42.7-65.3)
Failure of technique, % (95% CI)	1.4^{^a} (0.2-6.3)	9.7^{^b} (4.5-18.1)	2.8^{^ab} (0.6-8.6)	0.02
Successful cannulation on first attempt, % (95% CI)	78.9 (68.3-87.1)	76.9 (65.7-85.9)	82.9 (72.8-90.3)	ns
Carotid artery puncture, % (95% CI)	0.0 (0.0-3.5)	1.5 (0.2-7.0)	7.1 (2.8-14.9)	ns
Skin-to-vein time, seconds, mean (95% CI)	17.6 (12.1-23.2)	19.2 (13.4-25.0)	18.4 (12.3-24.4)	ns

↵^a,b For each variable, means or proportions in a line with the same or no superscript do not differ (P>0.05). Statistical significance is defined as P ≤ 0.05.
CI, confidence interval; ns, nonsignificant.