title: Psychomotor skills in medical ultrasound imaging: an analysis of the core skill set.
abstract: Sonographers use psychomotor skills to perform medical ultrasound examinations. Psychomotor skills describe voluntary movements of the limb, joints, and muscles in response to sensory stimuli and are regulated by the motor neural cortex in the brain. We define a psychomotor skill in relation to medical ultrasound imaging as "the unique mental and motor activities required to execute a manual task safely and efficiently for each clinical situation." Skills in clinical ultrasound practice may be open or closed; most skills used in medical ultrasound imaging are open. Open skills are both complex and multidimensional. Visuomotor and visuospatial psychomotor skills are central components of medical ultrasound imaging. Both types of skills rely on learners having a visual exemplar or standard of performance with which to reference their skill performance and evaluate anatomic structures. These are imperative instructional design principles when teaching psychomotor skills.
authors: Rural Clinical School, School of Medicine (D.N.), and School of Nursing and Midwifery (L.S.), Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; RPA Women and Babies, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (J.H.); and Discipline of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Neonatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (J.H.). dnicholls@sufw.com.au.
authors: Delwyn
authors: D
authors: Nicholls
authors: Rural Clinical School, School of Medicine (D.N.), and School of Nursing and Midwifery (L.S.), Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; RPA Women and Babies, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (J.H.); and Discipline of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Neonatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (J.H.).
authors: Linda
authors: L
authors: Sweet
authors: Rural Clinical School, School of Medicine (D.N.), and School of Nursing and Midwifery (L.S.), Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; RPA Women and Babies, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (J.H.); and Discipline of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Neonatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (J.H.).
authors: Jon
authors: J
authors: Hyett
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000592:standards*
keywords: procedural skills; psychomotor skills; skills; sonography; ultrasound; ultrasound education