Towards Truly Integrated Undergraduate Radiology Education: An Ultrasound-Based Bedside Radiology Teaching Quality...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Radiology
• Ultrasound Imaging

Background:

• Traditional radiology education in medical curricula often relies on lectures, leading to disengagement.
• A gap exists in practical, interactive radiology training for medical students.
• This study addresses the need for improved radiology integration in undergraduate medical education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel ultrasound-based, small-group teaching intervention for final-year medical students.
• To enhance student engagement, diagnostic reasoning, and confidence in radiology.
• To assess the effectiveness of integrating radiology education into surgical rotations.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project involving 44 final-year medical students during surgical rotations.
• One-hour, small-group ultrasound sessions led by radiology registrars.
• Evaluation through post-session surveys and blinded performance assessments in a simulated clerking exercise.

Main Results:

• 91% of students completed surveys, with 90% rating the intervention as "much better" than lectures.
• 86% reported enhanced understanding and 90% increased confidence in discussing imaging.
• Students in the intervention group scored significantly higher in diagnostic imaging during assessments (P < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Small-group, ultrasound-based radiology teaching significantly boosts student engagement and diagnostic skills.
• This experiential approach is superior to traditional lecture-based radiology education.
• The intervention provides a practical model for embedding radiology into medical curricula and fostering clinician-radiologist collaboration.