Effects of undergraduate ultrasound education on cross-sectional image understanding and visual-spatial ability - a prospective study

Autor: Johannes Weimer, Johannes Ruppert, Thomas Vieth, Julia Weinmann-Menke, Holger Buggenhagen, Julian Künzel, Maximilian Rink, Liv Lorenz, Daniel Merkel, Carlotta Ille, Yang Yang, Lukas Müller, Roman Kloeckner, Andreas Weimer
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: BMC Medical Education, Vol 24, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1472-6920
DOI: 10.1186/s12909-024-05608-7
Popis: Abstract Introduction/aim Radiological imaging is crucial in modern clinical practice and requires thorough and early training. An understanding of cross-sectional imaging is essential for effective interpretation of such imaging. This study examines the extent to which completing an undergraduate ultrasound course has positive effects on the development of visual-spatial ability, knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, understanding of radiological cross-sectional images, and theoretical ultrasound competencies. Material and methods This prospective observational study was conducted at a medical school with 3rd year medical students as part of a voluntary extracurricular ultrasound course. The participants completed evaluations (7-level Likert response formats and dichotomous questions “yes/no”) and theoretical tests at two time points (T1 = pre course; T2 = post course) to measure their subjective and objective cross-sectional imaging skills competencies. A questionnaire on baseline values and previous experience identified potential influencing factors. Results A total of 141 participants were included in the study. Most participants had no previous general knowledge of ultrasound diagnostics (83%), had not yet performed a practical ultrasound examination (87%), and had not attended any courses on sonography (95%). Significant subjective and objective improvements in competencies were observed after the course, particularly in the subjective sub-area of “knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships” (p = 0.009). Similarly, participants showed improvements in the objective sub-areas of “theoretical ultrasound competencies” (p
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals