Introducing Final-Year Medical Students to Pocket-Sized Ultrasound Imaging: Teaching Transthoracic Echocardiography on a 2-Week Anesthesia Rotation |
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Authors: | Anthony M.-H. Ho Lester A. H. Critchley Joseph Y. C. Leung Patricia K. Y. Kan Sylvia S. Au Siu K. Ng |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR;2. Teaching and Learning Resource Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR;3. Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR |
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Abstract: | Problem: The availability of less expensive and smaller ultrasound machines has enabled the use of ultrasound in virtually all major medical/surgical disciplines. Some medical schools have incorporated point-of-care ultrasound training into their undergraduate curriculum, whereas many postgraduate programs have made ultrasound training a standard. The Chinese University of Hong Kong has charged its Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care to spearhead the introduction of ultrasound into the final-year medical curriculum by introducing handheld transthoracic echocardiography as part of perioperative assessment. Intervention: All 133 final-year students completed a 2-week anesthesia rotation, which began with a half-day session consisting of a lecture and hands-on practice session during which they learned 9 basic transthoracic echocardiography views using 4 basic ultrasound probe positions. Context: Each student was required to perform a transthoracic echocardiography-examine under supervision of 1 patient/week for 2 weeks, and their results were compared against that of the supervisor's. Most patients were elective cardiac surgery patients. One long question on transthoracic echocardiography was included in their end-of-year surgery examination paper. Students provided feedback on their experience. Outcome: Most students learned the basic transthoracic echocardiography views fairly efficiently and had variable, though generally favorable, success rates in identifying obvious cardiac anomalies, including use of color Doppler. A few common mistakes were identified but were easily correctable. Logistics for mobilizing enough bedside supervision were challenging. Students reported positive feedback on the teaching initiative. Lessons Learned: We were able to execute a successful short training course on transthoracic echocardiography during the final-year medical degree anesthesia rotation. Our initiative may set an example for other clinical departments to design similar courses pertinent to their specialties and syllabuses. |
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Keywords: | echocardiography education perioperative medicine ultrasound |
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