2089258 Retrospective Evaluation of A Longitudinal 3rd Year Medical School Ultrasound Curriculum

Attempts to introduce bedside ultrasound into medical education have increased significantly in recent years. Given the expanding role of ultrasound in medicine, determining an efficient and effective manner to educate learners is vitally important. Ultrasound education can serve to reinforce anatomy and pathophysiology, while embracing the LCME accreditation goals of providing active learning with practical opportunities while developing problem solving skills and clinical reasoning. Finally, recent literature reveals medical students feel exposure to ultrasonography is a valuable part of their education. We created a longitudinal ultrasound curriculum for 3rd year medical students. The main OBJECTIVES: was to assess improvement in ultrasound knowledge by means of a pre- and post-curriculum written test. Secondary goal was student proficiency on an ultrasound skills assessment at completion of the curriculum. A convenience sample of six students was introduced to a novel, longitudinal ultrasound curriculum. The students were given a 20-question knowledge assessment prior to beginning an eight month ultrasound curriculum. Each session reviewed a variety of ultrasound specific applications. Students underwent a final testing session that consisted of the same 20-question knowledge assessment and an ultrasound skills assessment. The skills assessment included demonstration of different ultrasound exams on standardized patients, judged by Emergency Medicine Ultrasound faculty. Students demonstrated a 27% improvement on written knowledge assessment after participating in the longitudinal ultrasound curriculum. Additionally, students demonstrated moderate to excellent ability in obtaining pertinent sonographic images and performing ultrasound guided procedures on skills assessment. Overall, students demonstrated improvement in both ultrasound knowledge and technical skills following implementation of a longitudinal curriculum in the 3rd year of medical school. A longitudinal approach to teaching medical students the principles and techniques of bedside ultrasound may be an effective way to introduce this skill into the already extensive medical school curriculum.