Glow Powder: See the Germs? An Innovative Teaching Technique in a Student Sonography Laboratory

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the disinfection rate of a laboratory environment before and after glow powder exposure and training of sonography students (n = 23) and establish if glow powder was an effective teaching technique for infection protection and control (IPC). Fourteen locations at four scanning stations were contaminated with glow powder, visible under ultraviolet light. Students were shown contaminated areas and debriefed on the importance of disinfection. This activity was repeated to ascertain effectiveness of the training. In total, 204 areas were examined for contamination. Observation 1 revealed 21 locations (30.8%), and observation 2 detected glow powder on 12 locations (17.6%). Overall decrease in contamination rate was 13%. The gel bottle was the most frequently contaminated. The curved 3.5-MHz transducer was consistently cleaned. Disinfectant spray, time gain compensation, bed, stool, screen, and handles of the machine remained contaminated. Students’ IPC increased significantly after glow powder training, and secondary spread was reduced by 16%.

Quality Improvement Initiatives in Sonography Education: A Review of the Literature

“…This literature review is concentrated on educational quality improvement and the majority of manuscripts addressed clinical and/or lab education. 13–22 Seven research studies highlighted didactic improvements 23–29 and two articles discussed education in general. 10,30 In comparison, articles on accreditation 30 and credentialing 10,29 were sparse.…”

“…Five articles discussed multiple sonography specialties 14,15,17,20,29 and eight articles were on sonography, in general. 10,19,21,23,26–28,30…”

“…Eighteen of the articles were published between 2010 and 2020, 10,13–29 with 13 of these published in the last 5 years. 10,15–17,19–22,24,26–29 The remaining article, and the sole one focused on accreditation, was published in 2001. 30 Of note, 16 articles were published in the same journal, the Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography .…”

“…30 Of note, 16 articles were published in the same journal, the Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography . 10,13,14,17–29 The remaining manuscripts include two dissertations 15,16 and one article published in the Canadian Journal of Medical Radiation Technology . 30…”

“…As seen in Figure 1, the 19 manuscripts included in this review are comprised of 15 research studies, 13–22,24,26,27,29,30 3 literature reviews, 23,25,28 and 1 symposia article. 10 Of the research studies, seven utilized mixed-methods, 16,17,20,22,24,26,27 five included quantitative analyses, 13,14,18,19,29 and three used qualitative techniques. 15,21,30…”