Abstract
Abstract
Background
Incorporating ultrasound into the clinical curriculum of undergraduate medical education has been limited by a need for faculty support. Without integration into the clinical learning environment, ultrasound skills become a stand-alone skill and may decline by the time of matriculation into residency. A less time intensive ultrasound curriculum is needed to preserve skills acquired in preclinical years. We aimed to create a self-directed ultrasound curriculum to support and assess students’ ability to acquire ultrasound images and to utilize ultrasound to inform clinical decision-making.
Methods
Third year students completed the self-directed ultrasound curriculum during their required internal medicine clerkship. Students used Butterfly iQ+ portable ultrasound probes. The curriculum included online modules that focused on clinical application of ultrasound as well as image acquisition technique. Students were graded on image acquisition quality and setting, a patient write-up focused on clinical decision-making, and a multiple-choice quiz. Student feedback was gathered with an end-of-course survey. Faculty time was tracked.
Results
One hundred and ten students participated. Students averaged 1.79 (scale 0–2; SD = 0.21) on image acquisition, 78% (SD = 15%) on the quiz, and all students passed the patient write-up. Most reported the curriculum improved their clinical reasoning (72%), learning of pathophysiology (69%), and patient care (55%). Faculty time to create the curriculum was approximately 45 h. Faculty time to grade student assignments was 38.5 h per year.
Conclusions
Students were able to demonstrate adequate image acquisition, use of ultrasound to aid in clinical decision-making, and interpretation of ultrasound pathology with no in-person faculty instruction. Additionally, students reported improved learning of pathophysiology, clinical reasoning, and rapport with patients. The self-directed curriculum required less faculty time than prior descriptions of ultrasound curricula in the clinical years and could be considered at institutions that have limited faculty support.
Funder
Health Resources and Services Administration
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference13 articles.
1. Moore CL, Copel JA (2011) Point-of-Care Ultrasonography. Vol 364
2. So S, Patel RM, Orebaugh SL (2017) Ultrasound imaging in medical student education: impact on learning anatomy and physical diagnosis. Anat Sci Educ 10(2):176–189. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.1630
3. Bahner DP, Goldman E, Way D, Royall NA, Liu YT (2014) The state of ultrasound education in U.S. Medical schools: results of a national survey. Acad Med 89(12):1681–1686. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000000414
4. Association of American Medical Colleges. Ultrasound Use at US and Canadian Medical Schools. AAMC Curriculum Inventory, 2018–2019. https://www.Aamc.Org/Data-Reports/Curriculum-Reports/Interactive-Data/Ultrasound-Use-Us-and-Canadian-Medical-SchoolsAccessed Dec 15, 2022
5. Bahner DP, Royall NA (2013) Advanced ultrasound training for fourth-year medical students: a novel training program at the ohio state university college of medicine. Acad Med 88(2):206–212. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e31827c562d