Tiered Longitudinal Ultrasound Curriculum for Undergraduate Medical Education

Objective: To develop a tiered longitudinal ultrasound curriculum which will enable medical students at The Ohio State University College of Medicine (OSUCOM) to become better clinicians by enhancing their knowledge of... [ view full abstract ]

Objective:
To develop a tiered longitudinal ultrasound curriculum which will enable medical students at The Ohio State University College of Medicine (OSUCOM) to become better clinicians by enhancing their knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and medical decision making.

Background:
The Ultrasound Interest Group (USIG) at OSUCOM has consistently been involved in creating opportunities for medical students to acquire ultrasound skills throughout their four years in medical school. The USIG decided to survey medical students at OSUCOM to evaluate perceptions of the current ultrasound opportunities. Based on the students responses, the USIG Executive Board reorganized the training experiences and developed a tiered curriculum that builds on the previous opportunities.

Methods:
In March 2015, the USIG executive committee sent out a survey to the student body asking for feedback on the current state of the ultrasound program at OSUCOM. Students were asked about their level of involvement and reasons for participating in the offered ultrasound activities. Additionally, free-text response boxes were provided for any additional comments. Based on the results of the survey and verbal suggestions from classmates, the USIG executive committee held a series of meetings where the ultrasound activities were compiled into a cohesive curriculum.

Results:
We developed a tiered longitudinal ultrasound curriculum for medical students at OSUCOM. The curriculum is separated into Beginner Ultrasound, Intermediate Ultrasound, Advanced Ultrasound, and Honors Ultrasound each with a one year duration which are to be completed during all four years of medical school. Each program is designed to build sequentially on the previous and take a medical student from completely naive to a proficient scanner. Upon completion of the ultrasound course, students will be able to graduate with an advanced competency in ultrasound. Beginner ultrasound consists of learning ultrasound physics, three types of scans (FAST, aorta, cardiac), 5-10 Trained Simulated Ultrasound Model (TSUP) modeling hours. Intermediate ultrasound adds ultrasound artifacts, didactics, 3 more scans (pelvic, procedural, critical care), additional TSUP modeling hours and 10 saved scans. Advanced ultrasound emphasizes on recognizing pathology and learning more advanced scanning specific to the student’s medical field of interest. Honors ultrasound is a year long elective in the fourth year that includes an ultrasound project, journal club, proctoring hours, and an ultrasound portfolio of saved scans.

Conclusions:
We expect this curricular format to provide a logical, consistent and coherent ultrasound training for medical students and to serve as a core for future expansion and refinement of the ultrasound program at OSUCOM. This program also allows for easy integration into the framework for students to graduate with an advanced competency in ultrasound.