Clin Exp Emerg Med.  2019 Sep;6(3):257-263. 10.15441/ceem.18.061.

Effectiveness of limited airway ultrasound education for medical students: a pilot study

• Park S
• Lee S
• Do HH
• Kim JS
• Seo JS

• KMID: 2459805
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15441/ceem.18.061

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The point-of-care ultrasound of the airway (POCUS-A) is a useful examination method but there are currently no educational programs for medical students regarding it. We designed a POCUS-A training curriculum for medical students to improve three cognitive and psychomotor learning domains: knowledge of POCUS-A, image acquisition, and image interpretation.
METHODS
Two hours of training were provided to 52 medical students in their emergency medicine (EM) rotation. Students were evaluated for cognitive and psychomotor skills before and immediately after the training. The validity measures were established with the help of six specialists and eight EM residents. A survey was administered following the curriculum.
RESULTS
Cognitive skill significantly improved after the training (38.7±12.4 vs. 91.2±7.7) and there was no significant difference between medical students and EM residents in posttest scores (91.2±7.7 vs. 90.8±4.6). The success rate of overall POCUS-A performance was 95.8%. The students were confident to perform POCUS-A on an actual patient and strongly agreed to incorporate POCUS-A training in their medical school curriculum.
CONCLUSION
Cognitive and psychomotor skills of POCUS-A among medical students can be improved via a limited curriculum on EM rotation.

Keyword

Ultrasonography; Airway management; Education, medical

MeSH Terms

Airway Management
Curriculum
Education*
Education, Medical
Emergency Medicine
Humans
Learning
Methods
Pilot Projects*
Point-of-Care Systems
Schools, Medical
Specialization
Students, Medical*
Ultrasonography*