Assessment of using ultrasonography to teach abdominal and cervical anatomy in French medical curricula

• Published in: Surgical and radiologic anatomy (English ed.) Vol. 45; no. 9; pp. 1185 - 1189
• Main Authors: Dissaux, Brieg, Ognard, Julien, Léger, Bran, Duigou, Marie, Lefèvre, Christian, Nonent, Michel, Berthou, Christian, Seizeur, Romuald
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Springer Paris 01.09.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abdomen; Anatomy; Curricula; Imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Article; Orthopedics; Radiology; Students; Surgery; Teaching; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasound; Pedagogy; Cervical anatomy; Abdominal anatomy; Ultrasonography anatomy
• ISSN: 1279-8517; 0930-1038; 1279-8517
• DOI: 10.1007/s00276-023-03219-3

Purpose The objective of this work was to assess, in a quantitative and qualitative way, the teaching of cervical and abdominal anatomy via ultrasound for medical students. Methods For several years, tutorials on the study of anatomy through use of ultrasound on the living organism have been given at the Medical School of Brest. These sessions have focused on cervical anatomy and abdominal anatomy. Students were invited to quantitatively assess these lessons by taking two tests containing questions on both cervical and abdominal anatomy and ultrasound technique: a pre-test administered at the beginning of the year and a post-test at the end of the year. In addition, a qualitative assessment was carried out at the end of the year. Ten statements were presented, and students were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement to a four-point Likert scale. Results One hundred and twelve students answered all the questions on the pre-test with an average of 13.4 correct answers out of 20. Forty-eight students answered all the questions on the post-test with an average of 14.6/20. Twenty-six students who benefited from the courses gave positive feedback about the workshops on the qualitative assessment at the end of the year (median scores >  = 3/4). Conclusion The results of this work suggest that the use of ultrasound makes a positive contribution to the teaching of anatomy. The students interviewed think this type of tutorial should be an integral part of the anatomy curriculum at our university. In addition, this type of instruction can serve to introduce the use of ultrasound itself in a practical learning setting.