Rudolf Frey Learning Clinic, University Medical Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany.
Department of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Rems-Murr-Klinikum, 71364 Winnenden, Germany.
Tomography. 2023 Jul 4;9(4):1315-1328. doi: 10.3390/tomography9040104.
Ultrasound diagnostics is an important examination method in everyday clinical practice, but student education is often inadequate for acquiring sufficient basic skills. Individual universities have therefore started integrating (extra)curricular training concepts into medical education. This study aimed to evaluate sustainable skills development through participation in peer-assisted ultrasound courses.
From 2017, students in the clinical part of medical school could opt for extracurricular peer-assisted ultrasound courses. Depending on the format (10-week course/2-day compact course) these comprised 20 teaching units focusing on abdominal and emergency ultrasonography. Students attending compulsory workshops at the start of their practical year were enrolled in this study, allowing for a comparison between the study group (attended ultrasound course) and the control group (did not attend ultrasound course). Competency from two out of four practical exams (subjects: "aorta", "gallbladder", "kidney" and "lung") was measured, and a theory test on the same subject areas ("pathology recognition") was administered. Additional questions concerned biographical data, subjective competency assessment (7-point Likert scale), and "attitude to ultrasound training in the curriculum".
Analysis included 302 participants in total. Ultrasound courses had been attended on average 2.5 years earlier (10-week course) and 12 months earlier (2-day compact course), respectively. The study group ( = 141) achieved significantly better results than the control group ( = 161) in the long-term follow-up. This applies both to practical exams ( < 0.01) and theory tests ( < 0.01). After course attendance, participants reported a significantly higher subjective assessment of theoretical ( < 0.01) and practical ( < 0.01) ultrasound skills.
Peer-assisted ultrasound courses can sustainably increase both theoretical and practical competency of medical students. This highlights the potential and need for standardised implementation of ultrasound courses in the medical education curriculum.
超声诊断在日常临床实践中是一种重要的检查方法，但学生教育往往不足以获得足够的基本技能。因此，个别大学已开始将（课外）培训概念纳入医学教育。本研究旨在评估通过参与同伴辅助超声课程来实现可持续的技能发展。
从 2017 年开始，医学院临床部分的学生可以选择参加课外同伴辅助超声课程。根据课程形式（10 周课程/2 天强化课程），这些课程包括 20 个教学单元，重点是腹部和急诊超声。本研究纳入了在实践年开始时参加必修研讨会的学生，以便在研究组（参加超声课程）和对照组（未参加超声课程）之间进行比较。从四个实践考试中的两个考试（科目：“主动脉”、“胆囊”、“肾脏”和“肺部”）中衡量了能力，并对同一主题领域（“病理学识别”）进行了理论考试。此外，还提出了一些关于传记数据、主观能力评估（7 分李克特量表）和“对课程中超声培训的态度”的问题。
分析共纳入 302 名参与者。分别平均在 2.5 年前（10 周课程）和 12 个月前（2 天强化课程）参加了超声课程。在长期随访中，研究组（=141）的成绩明显优于对照组（=161）。这适用于实践考试（<0.01）和理论考试（<0.01）。在参加课程后，参与者报告称，他们对理论（<0.01）和实践（<0.01）超声技能的主观评估有了显著提高。
同伴辅助超声课程可以可持续地提高医学生的理论和实践能力。这突出了在医学教育课程中标准化实施超声课程的潜力和必要性。
