title: Teaching point of care ultrasound skills in medical school: keeping radiology in the driver's seat.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ultrasound is used increasingly in medical practice as a tool for focused bedside diagnosis and technical assistance during procedures. Widespread availability of small portable units has put this technology into the hands of many physicians and medical students who lack dedicated training, leaving the education and introduction of this key modality increasingly to physicians from other specialties. We developed a radiology-led program to teach ultrasound skills to preclinical medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  To develop this new ultrasound program we 1) established a program leader, 2) developed teaching materials, 3) created a hands-on interactive program, and 4) recruited the necessary instructors. The program was piloted with the first-year medical student class of 154 students. The introductory session was assessed by pre- and post-activity Likert scale-based surveys.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 154 (68.8%) students, 106 completed a voluntary online survey before starting the program and 145 students (94.2%) completed a voluntary survey after the session. Students found the program educationally valuable (4.64 of 5) and reported that it improved their understanding of ultrasound imaging (4.7 of 5). Students' reported confidence in identifying abdominal organs, intra-abdominal fluid, and Morison pouch that was significantly higher on the postactivity survey compared to the presurvey (P < .001 for all).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We piloted a radiology-led program to teach ultrasound skills to preclinical medical students. Students found the experience enjoyable and educationally valuable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, 505 Parnassus Ave., M-391, San Francisco, CA 94143-0628. Electronic address: emily.webb@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Emily M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: James B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Cotton
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Straus
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Physical Therapy, University of California, San Francisco, California; Department of Rehabilitation Science, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Kimberly S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Topp
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, 505 Parnassus Ave., M-391, San Francisco, CA 94143-0628.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Naeger
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011871:Radiology / Q000193:education*; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Medical student education; point of care ultrasound; preclinical curricula