First Year Medical Students, Personal Handheld Ultrasound Devices, and Introduction of Insonation in Medical...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Ultrasound Technology
• Anatomy Learning

Background:

• Ultrasound education is established in medical schools.
• Formal studies on first-year medical students using personal handheld ultrasound devices are limited.
• Personal ultrasound devices facilitate self-directed learning throughout the academic year.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a peer-led ultrasound curriculum utilizing handheld devices for first-year medical students.
• To assess student perceptions regarding the integration of ultrasound technology into medical education.

Main Methods:

• A peer-led curriculum incorporating handheld ultrasound devices was implemented.
• Student perceptions were collected via quarterly Likert-style questionnaires.
• Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test differences in survey categories.

Main Results:

• High student agreement (p < 0.001) was found for improved ultrasound performance, interpretation, anatomy understanding, and ease of use.
• The perceived benefit of integrating ultrasound into the curriculum increased over time (p < 0.05).
• A significant portion of students disagreed with current access to personal ultrasound devices (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• First-year medical students responded positively to personal handheld ultrasound devices.
• The devices were perceived as easy to use and beneficial for understanding 3D anatomy.
• Further investigation into device accessibility is warranted.