Bedside ultrasound education in Canadian medical schools: A national survey.
BACKGROUND
This study was carried out to determine the extent and characteristics of bedside ultrasound teaching in medical schools across Canada.


METHODS
A cross-sectional, survey-based study was used to assess undergraduate bedside ultrasound education in the 17 accredited medical schools in Canada. The survey, consisting of 19 questions was pilot-tested, web-based, and completed over a period of seven months in 2014.


RESULTS
Approximately half of the 13 responding medical schools had integrated bedside ultrasound teaching into their undergraduate curriculum. The most common trends in undergraduate ultrasound teaching related to duration (1-5 hours/year in 50% of schools), format (practical and theoretical in 67% of schools), and logistics (1:4 instructor to student ratio in 67% of schools). The majority of responding vice-deans indicated that bedside ultrasound education should be integrated into the medical school curriculum (77%), and cited a lack of ultrasound machines and infrastructure as barriers to integration.


CONCLUSIONS
This study documents the current characteristics of undergraduate ultrasound education in Canada.
Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC.
Peter
P
Steinmetz
Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC.
Octavian
O
Dobrescu
Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC.
Sharon
S
Oleskevich
Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC.
John
J
Lewis