Evaluation of a Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Workshop in the Family Medicine Clerkship

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The family medicine (FM) clerkship is appropriate for incorporating musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSKUS) education, as many outpatient visits in primary care occur for musculoskeletal (MSK) concerns. Despite rising popularity of point-of-care imaging in primary care, ultrasound (US) training in medical education is limited due to lack of resources and time. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of an MSKUS workshop in the FM clerkship through student self-evaluations. Methods: Seventy-five medical students enrolled in the FM clerkship during the 2019-2020 academic year participated in hands-on MSKUS workshops staffed by faculty, residents, and a fellow. Workshops coincided with FM residency didactic teaching, allowing for protected time to host US training. Of workshop participants, 98.6% completed both pre- and postworkshop evaluations assessing confidence and acceptability of the workshop (rated on a 0-10 Likert scale, where higher scores represent more confidence or greater benefit, respectively). Results: Students noted increased confidence with use of ultrasound, recognition of MSK structures, and performance of landmark-guided procedures (preworkshop 2.6±1.6; postworkshop 7.4±1.1). Students endorsed high levels of agreement in the benefit of the workshop to their education (9.4±1.3) and MSK understanding (9.4±1.2). Conclusions: This study demonstrates the benefit of an MSKUS workshop as part of the FM clerkship and addresses previously identified challenges to providing US education. Results suggest a short-term benefit from an MSKUS workshop in confidence in MSKUS knowledge and satisfaction with the curriculum.

Integrating a self-directed ultrasound curriculum for the internal medicine clerkship

“…In addition to requiring less faculty time, our pilot required students to obtain images on hospitalized patients instead of standardized patients or other healthy individuals. This differs from many described clerkship-based curricula where most of the skills practice took place with live models or simulation [ 5 , 6 , 8 , 12 ]. Our model tasked students with the real world limitations of image acquisition, such as maneuvering difficult windows, patient comfort, and time management skills, and promoted self-directed learning.…”

“…Medical schools have tried different approaches to integrate ultrasound into the clinical years [ 5 – 8 ]. Most curricula depend on in-person didactic instruction with significant faculty development and support [ 9 ].…”