Student Tutors Are Able to Teach Basic Sonographic Anatomy Effectively – a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

Zusammenfassung

Ziel: Ultraschall ist eine verbreitete diagnostische Methode. Im Medizinstudium können z. B. Ultraschall-Anatomie und grundlegende Ultraschalldiagnostik unterrichtet werden. Einige medizinische Fakultäten haben Ultraschallkurse mit studentischen Tutoren implementiert, um der wachsenden Nachfrage an Ultraschallausbildung gerecht zu werden. Obwohl dieses Unterrichtskonzept als praktikabel und gut akzeptiert gilt, gibt es kaum Daten, die die Effektivität dieser Kurse belegen. Wir haben daher untersucht, ob studentische Tutoren grundlegende Ultraschallanatomie genauso effektiv unterrichten können wie Ultraschall-erfahrene Ärzte. Material und Methoden: 50 Medizinstudenten wurden in zwei Gruppen randomisiert. 46 Datensätze konnten ausgewertet werden. Eine Gruppe wurde von studentischen Tutoren (ST), die andere von einem Ultraschall-erfahrenen Arzt (UA) unterrichtet. In einem Prä-/Post-Design mussten die Studenten 15 anatomische Strukturen darstellen. Dazu durften sie in 3 min maximal drei Bilder anfertigen, anschließend beschrifteten sie die Strukturen, die sie erkannten. Die Bilder wurden von 2 verblindeten Ultraschall-erfahrenen Ärzten ausgewertet. Eine Abweichung von maximal einer Struktur in der Verbesserung zwischen Prä- und Post-Test der beiden Gruppen wurde als äquivalent angesehen. Ergebnisse: Im Prä-Test identifizierten die ST (UA) 1,6 ± 1,0 (2,0 ± 1,1) Strukturen korrekt. Beide Gruppen verbesserten sich und identifizierten im Post-Test 7,8 ± 2,8 vs. 8,9 ± 2,9 Strukturen (beide p < 0,0001). Im Vergleich waren die Verbesserungen der ST (6,2 ± 2,8 Strukturen) den der UA (6,9 ± 3,2 Strukturen) äquivalent (p < 0,05 im T-Test für Äquivalenz). Schlussfolgerung: Studentische Tutoren können grundlegende Aspekte der Ultraschallanatomie des Oberbauchs vergleichbar effektiv unterrichten wie Ultraschall-erfahrene Ärzte.

Abstract

Purpose: Ultrasound is a widely used diagnostic tool. In medical education, it can be used to teach sonographic anatomy as well as the basics of ultrasound diagnostics. Some medical schools have begun implementing student tutor-led teaching sessions in sonographic abdominal anatomy in order to meet the growing demand in ultrasound teaching. However, while this teaching concept has proven to be feasible and well accepted, there is limited data regarding its effectiveness. We investigated whether student tutors teach sonographic anatomy as effectively as faculty staff sonographers. Materials and Methods: 50 medical students were randomly assigned to one of two groups. 46 of these could be included in the analysis. One group was taught by student tutors (ST) and the other by a faculty staff sonographer (FS). Using a pre/post-test design, students were required to locate and label 15 different abdominal structures. They printed out three pictures in three minutes and subsequently labeled the structures they were able to identify. The pictures were then rated by two blinded faculty staff sonographers. A mean difference of one point in the improvement of correctly identified abdominal structures between the pre-test and post-test among the two groups was regarded as equivalent. Results: In the pre-test, the ST (FS) correctly identified 1.6 ± 1.0 (2.0 ± 1.1) structures. Both the ST and FS group showed improvement in the post-test, correctly identifying 7.8 ± 2.8 vs. 8.9 ± 2.9 structures, respectively (p < .0001 each). Comparing the improvement of the ST (6.2 ± 2.8 structures) versus the FS (6.9 ± 3.2) showed equivalent results between the two groups (p < .05 testing for equivalence). Conclusion: Basic abdominal sonographic anatomy can be taught effectively by student tutors.

Key words

abdomen - head/neck - education

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