Dupriez Florence, Hall Audrey, Diop Toumane, Collard Alix, de Castro Bastian Rodrigues, Smets Françoise, Penaloza Andrea, Vanpee Dominique
Emergency Department, Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Avenue Hippocrate, 10, 1200, Brussels, Belgium.
Statistical Support Unit, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium.
Ultrasound J. 2024 Feb 13;16(1):9. doi: 10.1186/s13089-024-00361-w.
Given the widespread use of Point-of-Care UltraSound (PoCUS) in clinical practice, with ultrasound machines becoming more portable and affordable, recommendations and position statements from ultrasound societies now promote teaching PoCUS in the undergraduate curriculum. Nevertheless, surveys about PoCUS teaching in European medical schools are lacking. This survey aims to overview the current and future undergraduate PoCUS courses in the European Union (EU).
A questionnaire was sent to medical schools in 26 of the 27 countries of the EU; Luxembourg is the only country without a medical school. The survey was completed by the dean or a member of the medical school with knowledge of the medical curriculum. Of the 58 medical schools from 19 countries that responded to the survey, 18 (31.0%) from 13 (68.4%) EU countries reported the existence of an undergraduate PoCUS curriculum and a further 16 (27.6%) from 12 (41.4%) EU countries intended to offer it in the future. No significant difference was observed between the current and future PoCUS curricula regarding its content and purpose. Less than 40 h of theoretical teaching is provided in all the medical schools and less than 40 h of practical training is provided in 12 (75%) of the 16 medical schools which answered this specific question. Of the 40 (69%) surveyed medical schools that do not currently teach PoCUS, 20 (50%) intend to offer PoCUS courses in the future.
Although the lack of teaching hours in curricula suggests that most PoCUS courses are introductory in nature and that medical students are possibly not trained to become autonomous in clinical practice, evaluating the feasibility and impact of PoCUS teaching on clinical practice should be promoted. The medical schools that intend to develop this curriculum should be encouraged to implement validated tools to objectively assess their programs and students' performances.
鉴于床旁超声（PoCUS）在临床实践中的广泛应用，随着超声设备变得更加便携且价格亲民，超声学会的建议和立场声明现在提倡在本科课程中教授PoCUS。然而，欧洲医学院关于PoCUS教学的调查却很缺乏。本次调查旨在概述欧盟（EU）当前及未来的本科PoCUS课程情况。
向欧盟27个国家中的26个国家的医学院发送了调查问卷；卢森堡是唯一没有医学院的国家。该调查由医学院院长或了解医学课程的医学院成员完成。在回复调查的来自19个国家的58所医学院中，来自13个（68.4%）欧盟国家的18所（31.0%）报告存在本科PoCUS课程，另外来自12个（41.4%）欧盟国家的16所（27.6%）医学院打算在未来开设该课程。当前和未来的PoCUS课程在内容和目的方面未观察到显著差异。所有医学院提供的理论教学时间均少于40小时，在回答该特定问题的16所医学院中，有12所（75%）提供的实践培训时间少于40小时。在目前不教授PoCUS的40所（69%）参与调查的医学院中，有20所（50%）打算在未来开设PoCUS课程。
尽管课程中教学时间不足表明大多数PoCUS课程本质上是入门性质的，医学生可能未接受过在临床实践中独立操作的培训，但仍应推动评估PoCUS教学对临床实践的可行性和影响。应鼓励打算开发该课程的医学院实施经过验证的工具，以客观评估其课程和学生的表现。
