First Year Medical Students, Personal Handheld Ultrasound Devices, and Introduction of Insonation in Medical Education

Abstract

Background:Ultrasound education has been provided to students in medical schools within and beyond the United States. A formal experiment with use of personal handheld ultrasound equipment by all first-year medical students has not been reported. Employing insonation (an application of ultrasound) at the personal leisure by medical school freshmen enables self-directed learning throughout the academic year.Methods:We describe a peer-led ultrasound curriculum with handheld devices. The students’ perceptions were gathered through quarterly Likert-style questionnaires, and the differences in the categories were tested using Analysis of Variance.Results:The response rate was 58.5% for the first survey (n = 32), 56% (n = 30) for the second survey, and 62.3% (n = 33) for the final survey, respectively, with an average response rate of 58.9%. At the baseline survey, overall agreement was observed for enhancement on performance (62.5%) and interpretation (56.3) of ultrasounds, understanding (68.8%) and learning of anatomy (61.3%), ease (78.1%), comfort (59.4%) and benefit of incorporation of insonation in the medical school curricula (all p-values < 0.001). Neutral response (38.7%) or disagreement (38.7%) was observed when assessing the effect of the integration in medical curriculum on specialty choice (p < 0.01). These trends remained constant over follow-up with the exception that the perceived benefit for integration of insonation into the longitudinal curricula (p < 0.05) increased significantly over time. Majority of disagreement was observed regarding current access to the personal ultrasound devices (38.7%) (p < 0.001).Conclusions:The introduction of insonation through personal handheld ultrasound devices in the first-year medical school curriculum was received enthusiastically by students, with the majority of respondents finding the devices both easy to use and a valuable aid to improving their understanding of the three-dimensional anatomy.

One Year of Experience in Using Hand-Held Ultrasound as a Learning Tool in Ultrasound Rotation at the Emergency Department

“…With regard to the results of survey response when the participants were asked to evaluate their ultrasound learning experience while using the HHU device, the study showed agreement with respect to most items. These results were consistent with findings from a study by Ireson et al [6], who had provided all of their 1 st year medical students with HHU devices. On their baseline survey, overall agreement was observed for the following criteria: (1) Enhancement on performance of ultrasounds (62.5%), (2) interpretation of ultrasounds (56.3%), (3) understanding anatomy (68.8%), (4) learning anatomy (61.3%), (5) ease (78.1%), (6) comfort (59.4%), and (7) the benefits provided by the incorporation of insonation into the medical school curricula.…”

Point-of-care ultrasound augments physical examination learning by undergraduate medical students

“…For instance, in a pilot programme at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, 53 first-year medical students were provided with a handheld POCUS device for their personal use for 1 year. 21 The POCUS devices were received enthusiastically by students and were considered easy to use and a valuable tool to improve their understanding of three-dimensional anatomy. 21 In the present study, final-year medical students involved in day-to-day patient care on assigned medical wards were provided with a personal handheld POCUS device (1 device per 3 students) during the 8-week period of Internal Medicine rotation.…”

“…21 The POCUS devices were received enthusiastically by students and were considered easy to use and a valuable tool to improve their understanding of three-dimensional anatomy. 21 In the present study, final-year medical students involved in day-to-day patient care on assigned medical wards were provided with a personal handheld POCUS device (1 device per 3 students) during the 8-week period of Internal Medicine rotation. Similar to the prior report in first-year medical students undertaking an anatomy course, the personal handheld POCUS device was enthusiastically received by medical students.…”

Point-of-Care Ultrasound

“…Cardiac POCUS in Medical Education Over the past decade, there has been great interest in integrating ultrasound education to augment training in medical schools and residency programs across the USA. In the undergraduate medical education setting, ultrasound education can be favorably incorporated into the traditional preclinical curriculum to consolidate learning of anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, and physical examination [46][47][48]. In fact, first-year medical students who used handheld ultrasound as part of their curriculum reported greater spatial understanding of anatomy and perceived ultrasound to be a valuable tool to use in their future careers [47].…”

“…In the undergraduate medical education setting, ultrasound education can be favorably incorporated into the traditional preclinical curriculum to consolidate learning of anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, and physical examination [ 46 – 48 ]. In fact, first-year medical students who used handheld ultrasound as part of their curriculum reported greater spatial understanding of anatomy and perceived ultrasound to be a valuable tool to use in their future careers [ 47 ]. POCUS can also be employed to improve diagnostic skills for upper-level medical students during their clinical rotations.…”