Gerald J. Tan MBBS, FRCR, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Dinesh Kumar Srinivasan MBBS, PhD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Cher Heng Tan MBBS, FRCR, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Kum Ying Tham MBBS, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

  The teaching of anatomy in medical school has changed little since the days of cadaveric dissection and anatomical pots. Clinical medicine, on the other hand, has rapidly evolved to use advanced imaging techniques such as ultrasound. Nonetheless, ultrasound training remains haphazard or even non-existent outside radiology, particularly at the medical school level.

  We worked with our affiliated medical school to review the established curriculum, and identified key areas where ultrasound would add value to traditional teaching methods. We decided to embed ultrasound into the preclinical years using hands-on practical sessions, with the aim of building a deeper understanding of human structure and function, and providing students with an introduction to clinical ultrasound.   The ultrasound curriculum consisted of 8 practical sessions over the 2 pre-clinical years. This consisted of an Introduction to Ultrasound, followed by 7 clinical sessions entitled Cardiac, Bladder, Shoulder, Hepatobiliary, Renal, Neck and Pelvic Ultrasound. A combination of ultrasound phantoms and standardized volunteers was used. Each session lasted 4 hours, with 6 students per machine, to allow for maximum hands-on experience.

  In order to assess knowledge retention, sonographic images were included in the anatomy practical assessments. Student scores for these questions showed good correlation with final scores and good item discrimination, with point biserial correlation coefficients from 0.37 to 0.61.   We also conducted an anonymous course evaluation using a 5-point Likert scale on a range of questions. The results were overwhelming positive, with mean scores of 4.45 to 4.86 on a 5-point Likert scale, and more than 88.7% of respondents answering “Agree” or “Strongly Agree” to all questions.

  The medical students were able to use ultrasound to appreciate living anatomy and real-time physiology, thus increasing the clinical relevance of the basic sciences and improving knowledge retention. This also served as an early introduction to radiologists as the pre-eminent practitioners of imaging, and provided them with foundational skills in ultrasound. 

  Integrating ultrasound into the medical school curriculum provided students with a deeper understanding of human anatomy and function, as well as an introduction to basic ultrasound technique.

Tan, G, Srinivasan, D, Tan, C, Tham, K, Integrating Ultrasound into the Medical School Anatomy Curriculum.  Radiological Society of North America 2014 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, - ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2014/14002944.html