Conception and Feasibility of a Digital Tele-Guided Abdomen, Thorax, and Thyroid Gland Ultrasound Course for Medical Students (TELUS study)

Abstract

Purpose Medical education has been transformed during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating challenges regarding adequate training in ultrasound (US). Due to the discontinuation of traditional classroom teaching, the need to expand digital learning opportunities is undeniable. The aim of our study is to develop a tele-guided US course for undergraduate medical students and test the feasibility and efficacy of this digital US teaching method. Materials and Methods A tele-guided US course was established for medical students. Students underwent seven US organ modules. Each module took place in a flipped classroom concept via the Amboss platform, providing supplementary e-learning material that was optional and included information on each of the US modules. An objective structured assessment of US skills (OSAUS) was implemented as the final exam. US images of the course and exam were rated by the Brightness Mode Quality Ultrasound Imaging Examination Technique (B-QUIET). Achieved points in image rating were compared to the OSAUS exam. Results A total of 15 medical students were enrolled. Students achieved an average score of 154.5 (SD ± 11.72) out of 175 points (88.29 %) in OSAUS, which corresponded to the image rating using B-QUIET. Interrater analysis of US images showed a favorable agreement with an ICC (2.1) of 0.895 (95 % confidence interval 0.858 < ICC < 0.924). Conclusion US training via teleguidance should be considered in medical education. Our pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of a concept that can be used in the future to improve US training of medical students even during a pandemic.

Students' Perspectives on Curricular Ultrasound Education at German Medical Schools

“…USMed has been proven to be a feasible and well-accepted goal by medical students. In a recently published study, authors showed, that after only five hours of instruction, it has the ability to assist medical students gain basic competency in abdominal ultrasound examination ( 29 ). Many studies ( 30 – 32 ) have looked at the use of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), with Todsen et al ( 31 ) demonstrating strong reliability and evidence of construct validity of the OSAUS scale in an educational setting.…”

Adaptation of an anatomy graduate course in ultrasound imaging from in‐person to live, remote instruction during the Covid‐19 pandemic

“…Students created a digital portfolio stored on the ultrasound machine that was periodically reviewed during an in‐person meeting with a faculty member (Boulger et al, 2021 ). A tele‐ultrasound course was developed for undergraduate medical students in response to discontinued in‐person teaching (Höhne et al, 2021 ). Students received electronic resources for study before attending a live, videoconferencing lecture and demonstration of imaging technique.…”

FoCUS cardiac ultrasound training for undergraduates based on current national guidelines: a prospective, controlled, single-center study on transferability

“…Attention also needs to be given here to the visual design, which influences students' motivation to read the notes [53,54]. Alongside the use of analogue learning materials [28], there is also a clear trend toward increasing digitalization in ultrasound training [23,29,30,55,56]. The development and use of e-learning tools [24] should be intensified in the future so that echocardiographic skills can be taught using a "blended learning" approach [32,57] -a view that is also supported by some of the text comments provided in the evaluations.…”