129 - Building Competency for Preclinical Medical Students: Assessing the Impact of an Ultrasound Training Workshop on Anatomical Identification and Fracture Diagnosis

Poster Board Number: 129
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Co-authors:

Colleen Cheverko, PhD - Rush University Medical College; Shelby Deynzer - Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Louisiana Campus; Alexander Taylor - Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Louisiana Campus; Jacob Turnbull, DO - Duquesne University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Abstract Body : Introduction: Implementing ultrasound (US) education throughout medical training is important because accurate imaging and diagnosis requires user knowledge and technical skills, which students develop with repeat exposure. However, many challenges exist in US education. Integrating clinically relevant non-normal anatomy models provides preclinical students opportunities to develop hands-on clinical diagnostic skills. This study evaluates preclinical medical students’ US competency and confidence in identifying anatomical structures and ankle fractures before and after a series of educational interventions. Methods: Second-year osteopathic students (n=42) completed pre- and post-training questionnaires to assess baseline familiarity and knowledge development after each of three educational interventions: an online lecture, hands-on scanning protocol workshop with Butterfly iQTM portable US, and timed practical to determine the presence or absence of closed ankle fractures in anatomy donors. Results: Students demonstrated statistically significant increases in competency scores on the post-intervention surveys compared to pre-intervention surveys (F[2,76]=77.83, p< 0.001); however, they only successfully identified closed ankle fractures 39% of the time in the donors. Participants self-reported higher confidence when using US after the workshop than the practical (X2=9.86, df=2, p=0.007), highlighting challenges that are introduced when students capture US images using dynamic scanning techniques in a practical setting. Conclusion: A structured US training workshop can significantly improve preclinical student ability to correctly identify anatomical structures and fractures on pre-populated images. Low percentages of correct fracture identification on the practical and decreases in confidence afterwards alludes to the complex nature of pathology identification compared to standard anatomy scanning. These results highlight the importance of incorporating more frequent, hands-on US training into medical school curricula since increased exposure leads to increased competence and confidence in clinical settings. Institutions without existing US training curricula can adopt similar cost-effective approaches using pre-existing resources, while institutions with existing US training curricula can benefit from incorporating realistic pathological models during preclinical years. Significance: This study highlights the need for continuous integration of clinically oriented US modules throughout medical education to practice hands-on clinical scanning techniques and interpretations before beginning clinical rotations. Funding: This research was supported in part by a VCOM REAP grant.