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Learning anatomy through ultrasound: The student experience
Author(s) -
Smith Claire France,
Sharp Abigail,
Dilley Andrew
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.609.1
Subject(s) - likert scale , ultrasound , medicine , medical education , curriculum , helpfulness , human anatomy , thematic analysis , psychology , anatomy , radiology , qualitative research , pedagogy , social psychology , developmental psychology , social science , sociology
Ultrasound is an important tool for teaching anatomy, it provides students with a live window into the body so that functional anatomy can be viewed in real‐time. Importantly, ultrasound provides a clinically relevant approach to learning anatomy. At Brighton and Sussex Medical School, ultrasound has been fully integrated into year 1 and 2 of the MBBS medical curriculum in small group teaching sessions (n = 15), that total 12 hours. To determine the usefulness of ultrasound for teaching anatomy, students completed an evaluation questionnaire consisting of 15 questions following each systems‐based module in year 1 for the 2014/15 and 2017/18 cohorts. All responses (n = 49–90) were scored on a five‐point Likert scale. Two focus groups (n=13 students) explored students' perceptions. Thematic analysis highlighted themes of respect and empathy for the patient, and concerns over the impact if no one volunteered. Students also reported the helpfulness of ultrasound for aiding interpreting 3D and radiological images. Student's responses to survey reveal: that they see why ultrasound is relevant to practice, felt it helped them to comprehend the 3D nature of the human body and helped their understanding of surface anatomy. However, students felt less proficient using ultrasound as the course progresses (P=<0.05) and they found it more difficult to examine the heart (P=<0.001). Student's ability to recognize vessels increased as the year progressed (P=<0.001.). In summary, interpretation of an ultrasound image can be challenging for students. In particular, students find it difficult to orientate a 2D slice through organs such as the heart, which is largely because small adjustments in probe orientation can result in unfamiliar views. Students clearly understand the clinical relevance of ultrasound. With increasing use of ultrasound in clinics, early exposure will undoubtedly help prepare students for clinical practice. Finally, this work clearly emphasises the need for better learning resources in this field. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .