Background:
Ultrasound education is being rapidly integrated into medical school curricula nationwide. Approximately half of the medical schools in the United States and Canada report teaching point-of-care ultrasound to their medical students. However, several barriers to integrating ultrasound education into medical school curricula still exist. We describe the establishment of a unique multidisciplinary, interprofessional ultrasound education center at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio (UTHSCSA).
Innovation:
We will describe the planning, construction, initial implementation, and future growth of our clinical ultrasound center over the past 4 years.
Planning (2012-2013)– An interdepartmental group of experts was convened to conceptualize how to establish a dedicated ultrasound that could benefit the entire institution. The keystone of this planning was to develop an ultrasound educational center with institution-wide ownership. A solidified proposal was presented to the School of Medicine (SOM) Dean’s Office to secure financial and political support.
Construction (2013-2014)– The Center for Clinical Ultrasound Education (CCUE) was designed to facilitate and coordinate ultrasound educational activities for diverse learner groups: medical students, residents, fellows, attending physicians, nurses, and advanced practice providers. Several meetings with our institutional ultrasound experts, construction project manager, and information technology representatives were held to optimize the design. The 1,354 sq. ft. Center has a 182 sq.ft. control room, 187 sq. ft. customized equipment storage closet, and a 985 sq. ft. educational space equipped with seven training stations and one instructor station. Each training station includes a padded table, 42” wall mounted flat screen monitor, and a multi-plug AV panel on the wall. A touch screen panel at the instructor station controls the electronics of the entire educational space. The ceiling has four independently mounted cameras that can pan and zoom to any station bed from different angles. Each station monitor can be split to show any combination of 1-4 images from numerous sources.
Initial Implementation (2014-2016) – Concurrent with the construction of the CCUE, a Longitudinal Medical Student Ultrasound (LMSU) curriculum was developed with SOM Curriculum Committee approval. Currently, the preclinical curriculum includes an introduction to bedside ultrasound equipment and physics, and scanning sessions covering the following anatomic areas: pulmonary, cardiac, renal and bladder, female pelvis and first trimester pregnancy, aorta, inferior vena cava, soft tissues and musculoskeletal. Students are also offered the opportunity to practice their skills during open scanning sessions within the CCUE. The departments of Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Obstetrics & Gynecology are also currently using the CCUE for student training during their 3rd year core rotations and/or 4th year elective rotations.
An Ultrasound Advisory Council was established with participating faculty from ten different specialty departments, including Anesthesiology, Cardiology, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Radiology, Surgery, and Urology. The participating faculty members serve as liaisons for development of ultrasound training opportunities in their departments. The Advisory Council oversees the operations and administration of the CCUE. This council fosters interdepartmental communication, cooperation and joint educational endeavors, while streamlining expenditure of educational resources.
The SOM has also established a CCUE Administrative Coordinator position, who’s duty is to organize the CCUE calendar, set-up each activity, maintain ultrasound equipment and supplies, manage the Center’s budget, and coordinate the activities of the Ultrasound Advisory Council, Ultrasound Interdepartmental Grand Rounds and Ultrasound Student Interest Group.
Future Growth (2016-2017) – Recently, a medical student Clinical Ultrasound Interest Group and faculty Clinical Ultrasound Research Group were established to promote student and faculty involvement in educational and research activities. We are seeking to establish a seamless ultrasound image archiving system between the CCUE and our main hospital to facilitate longitudinal research, quality improvement and educational projects. Future goals include expanding the use of the CCUE for continuing medical education activities and remote off-site training. This would allow the CCUE to have an impact on a local, national, and international ultrasound education.
Conclusions:
Integration of ultrasound training into medical school curricula is feasible using a multidisciplinary, interdepartmental approach but requires substantial institutional financial and political support.
Use of ultrasound in Undergraduate Medical Education , Use of ultrasound in Graduate Medical and Continuing Education , New Uses
