A National Point-of-Care Ultrasound Competition for Medical Students

[Interpretation of the clinical guideline for point-of-care ultrasonography in the neonatal intensive care unit in the United States]

In December 2022, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a clinical guideline for point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The guideline outlined the development and current status of POCUS in the NICU, and summarized the key elements and implementation guidelines for successful implementation of POCUS in the NICU. This article provides an overview of the key points of the clinical guideline and analyzes the current status of POCUS in China, providing a reference for the implementation of POCUS in neonatal care in China.

Ultrasonography in undergraduate medical education: a comprehensive review and the education program implemented at Jichi Medical University

The concept of point-of-care ultrasound has been widely accepted owing to the development of portable ultrasound systems and growing body of evidence concerning its extensive utility. Thus, it is reasonable to suggest that training to use this modality be included in undergraduate medical education. Training in ultrasonography helps medical students learn basic subjects such as anatomy and physiology, improve their physical examination skills, and acquire diagnostic and procedural skills. Technological advances such as simulators, affordable handheld devices, and tele-ultrasound systems can facilitate undergraduate ultrasound education. Several reports have indicated that some medical schools have integrated ultrasound training into their undergraduate medical curricula. Jichi Medical University in Japan has been providing medical students with ultrasound education to fulfill part of its mission to provide medical care to rural areas. Vertical integration of ultrasound education into a curriculum seems reasonable to ensure skill retention and improvement. However, several issues have hampered the integration of ultrasound into medical education, including a lack of trained faculty, the need to recruit human models, requisition of ultrasound machines for training, and limited curricular space; proposed solutions include peer teaching, students as trained simulated patients, the development of more affordable handheld devices, and a flipped classroom approach with access to an e-learning platform, respectively. A curriculum should be developed through multidisciplinary and bottom-up student-initiated approaches. Formulating national and international consensuses concerning the milestones and curricula can promote the incorporation of ultrasound training into undergraduate medical education at the national level.

Inspiring the Future of Physician Assistant Ultrasound Education: Lessons Learned From the Inaugural Yes, iScan Event

PURPOSE

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), despite its rapid integration into undergraduate medical education curriculum, remains underutilized among physician assistant (PA) programs, with a resultant training gap between PAs and their physician collaborators. Herein, we present the Yes, iScan Ultrasound event, piloted at the 2018 American Academy of PAs (AAPA) conference, as a means to generate PA student interest in, and introductory engagement with, the emerging clinical adjunct of POCUS.

METHODS

Physician assistant students and instructors were recruited to voluntarily participate. Student participants received pre-event online training access. They then competed in a team-based 8-hour competition covering core POCUS concepts of image acquisition, interpretation, and clinical implementation. Student participants' pre- and post-event self-assessments of their knowledge of how ultrasound could be implemented into clinical practice were analyzed using a 2-tailed t-test.

RESULTS

A total of 62 students participated in the competition, with a post-event response rate of 53%. Surveys demonstrated a statistically significant post-event increase in knowledge of how ultrasound integrates into clinical practice from 3.9 to 6 (7-point Likert scale, P-value < .01, 95% confidence interval -2.51 to -1.76). Seventy-nine percentage of students reported being highly engaged throughout the event, with 95% of students recommending recurring incorporation into future AAPA conferences.

CONCLUSIONS

Students reported high engagement and a significant increase in their knowledge of how POCUS may integrate into clinical practice following their participation. Although these data suggest that such events are successful at generating enthusiasm for this emerging clinical adjunct, further studies on the impact of the event toward increased POCUS integration into PA education are recommended.