Ultrasound as a Learning Tool in Bachelor-Level Anatomy Education
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Ultrasound as a Learning Tool in Bachelor-Level Anatomy Education Seth M. Alexander 1,2 & Kaylyn B. Pogson 1,2 & Vince E. Friedman 1 & Janine L. Corley 1 & Diego A. Hipolito Canario 1,2 & Corey S. Johnson 1 Accepted: 20 November 2020 # International Association of Medical Science Educators 2020
Abstract Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has become an increasingly common diagnostic tool in the clinical environment. As a result, it is being used earlier for medical students in Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) as a learning tool for the basic sciences including gross anatomy. There is little literature, however, to support its utility for basic science education in students currently seeking a bachelor’s degree. This study consisted of fourteen currently enrolled bachelor students with previous instruction in human anatomy and physiology. Students participated in an ultrasound didactic and an interactive ultrasound experience with volunteers. Before and after this session, students were asked to complete an assessment measuring their spatial understanding of the human anatomy and their ability to locate structures using ultrasound. Wilcoxon’s signed-rank tests comparing assessment scores showed significant improvement on both portions of the assessment. Based on this improvement, we suggest that ultrasound is a valid educational tool which can be used at the bachelor-level to effectively enhance students’ learning of anatomy and provide hands on experience with modern technology. Further research with larger samples will be necessary to determine whether it would supplement or replace more traditional teaching modalities. Keywords Anatomic imaging . Anatomy education . Anatomy teaching . Human gross anatomy . Ultrasound
Introduction Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has become a common clinical tool used in various medical specialties [1–3]. As POCUS has become a more common part of the clinical environment, it has also become a common part of Undergraduate Medical Education (UME). Medical school curricula have adopted ultrasound in teaching the physical exam and gross anatomy [4–6]. Studies of ultrasound in basic science education to date have largely focused on qualitative feedback from learners, which has shown widespread interest and subjective learning value. Outcomes of these studies include improved student perception of ability to identify structures under ultrasound and better conceptual understanding of spatial relationships between anatomic structures [4, 7–9].
This review of the current literature suggests that there should be further investigation to determine whether ultrasound can provide measurable learning gains. Feilchenfeld et al,, in their systematic review, concluded that there is a lack of conclusive empirical evidence showing quantitative improvements in learning with ultrasound [5]. The majority of studies show a positive, subjective impression shared by learners [10, 11] rather than objective evidence. Those studies that have measured learning gains focus on undergradu
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