Sonography Simulators: Use and Opportunities in CAAHEP-Accredited Programs

Abstract

Students in the health care professions have routinely acquired training through didactic and clinical instruction. With increased demands on health care professionals in the clinical environment and more emphasis on patient safety, there is less opportunity for preceptors to clinically train students. 1-3 Teaching sonography is particularly challenging as students must achieve cognitive, affective, and psychomotor knowledge and skills. Knowledge of anatomy, physiology, pathology, physics, and patient care techniques are all important; however, learning to perform and achieve proficiency in sonography has unique challenges. Sonography is an operator-dependent modality requiring a significant amount of effort, faculty time, and equipment, and it has a substantial learning curve. New simulation technology is now available and has enabled viable options to supplement students' basic sonography training. While adoption of simulation is documented with regard to training pharmacists, 4 dentists, 4 nurses, 4,5 physicians' assistants, 6 medical students, physicians, 7 and allied health undergraduate level students, 8-10 there is a gap in the literature on the topic of simulation use within sonography educational programs. Simulation is not a new concept for training professionals. It has been used in aviation, spaceflight, nuclear power, and the military to provide enhanced training for 799347J DMXXX10.

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.…”

“…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…”

“…Another aspect that could have also potentially introduced confounding factors is the variability in sonography education that was noted multiple times in this literature review. 13–15,18,20–22,24,25 Recommendations for limiting variability in the educational environment included increased clinical instructor training/support 15,18,21 as well as standardization of patients, 13,18 instructor assessments, 13,14 and educational curricula. 24,25 Although variability of clinical experiences can be challenging for students, it provides the benefit of learning from a variety of instructors and patients as well as the flexibility of experiencing a range of workplace settings prior to officially joining the workforce.…”