EUROSON 2016 Leipzig, Germany

During EUROSON 2016 a joint committee session focused on Student Education. Various presentations (a total of 9) were given focusing on the purpose of better student education in the field of ultrasonography. The first presentation, given by A. Kabaalioglu from Antalya, Turkey, focused on how ultrasonography is taught in the medical schools which responded to the European survey. The main reason why ultrasonography is not taught enough was considered to be the lack of resources and instructors. It was discussed that medical schools throughout Europe should strive for better communication between each other and for EFSUMB to provide better information about the education of ultrasonography. While the review focused on the medical schools we were also able to hear and see students observations.

A study in Denmark, presented by student S. Krog, revealed that teaching ultrasonography as a way to learn musculoskeletal anatomy is probably not the best idea. The results of the experiment showed that only learning ultrasound next to anatomy did not help to improve anatomy grades or give the students the incentive to learn ultrasonography. It was however discussed that ultrasound could be a helpful tool in helping students understand anatomy and physiology, and that the beginning of learning ultrasonography should involve abdominal anatomy and physiology rather than just focusing on musculoskeletal anatomy. The official EFSUMB Statement on medical student education on ultrasound was presented by R. Badea, Romania. During this presentation it was discussed why the practical part of ultrasound teaching is missing. It was concluded that medical school curriculum is already very tight to add anything new and that most of the departments are sharing the load in the training of ultrasonography but changes are needed and would be appreciated by students.

Student Bogna Stankiuk demonstrating her ultrasound skills.

While discussing the reasons why ultrasonography learning is important we had an amazing chance to observe one of the ways hands on training could be implemented using simulators.

During the live session, presented by M. Østergaard and M. Bachmann Nielsen from Denmark, on the use of simulators focusing on the abdomen it was discussed how much simulators bring value both to the students and resident doctors. The simulators could allow both students and residents to increase their knowledge and practical skills throughout time, while also being both cost and time efficient. The simulators would allow hands on training at any time with various programs and various difficulty levels for practical training. This would allow both resident doctors to check their practical skills and students to learn and build on their existing knowledge.

Though simulators are a very important tool we were also presented how little training is needed for a student to begin to understand ultrasound and how is it used. A presentation given by W. Kosiak, Poland, with his student Bogna Staniuk, 6th year medical student demonstrating, showed us that practicing up to 2 hours per month for 2 years leads to a level training to become adequate in the field.

Also some ideas were shared about student teaching ideas and how to implement them. An amazing presentation made by M. Glasoe, Norway, introduced to us that ultrasound itself should be approachable for students and that a quite easy way to implement this is through student tutors. This practice has shown to be validated in the universities of Norway. While teaching ultrasound we should not forget about essential safety in ultrasound. A presentation made by C. Kollmann, Austria, explained how to make sure that the ultrasound is safe for use. Though considered a basically safe technique, certain rules should be followed in order to minimize its potential effects on the tissues. It should be noted that the ultrasound machine should have European safety approval, that it meets all the requirements and that it is cleaned correctly after every use. Also it was stated that different programs should be discussed on different cases i. e. though ultrasonography is safe to use on a pregnant woman, Doppler use should be kept to a minimum in early pregnancy.

How students should be trained also was discussed. A presentation given by T. Todsen, Denmark, discussed the importance of evidence-based ultrasound training in the undergraduate curriculum. The main points included that the knowledge should not only be given in theoretical and practical ways but assessments should be made as well. Students should be evaluated in their knowledge and practical skills after the ultrasound courses. It is not just relevant to ask did they enjoy the course, though that knowledge is valuable for the tutors to make the course more enjoyable, the assessment would give us more knowledge about the usefulness of the course.

Last but not least, a presentation given by E. Valestrand, Norway, gave us the student point of view towards ultrasound teaching and the field of ultrasonography itself. Students require tasks that can be distributed into several parts and made simple. A simple task is easier to tackle than a vast one! Secondly students enjoy things that are precise and correct, a precise knowledge of the material helps the student to think about the whole field more than just looking at the given task. Lastly, students strive for positive reinforcement, tutors while implementing teaching ideas should use positive reinforcement to allow students to feel comfortable in the field and be able to branch out. This presentation gave us insight into the minds of students, what they really need and want, which allows us to make adjustments and think about teaching in the future.

All in all, the joint EFSUMB committee session was a great success giving all the listeners new ideas from various universities throughout Europe and new ways of teaching and implementing the teaching programs of ultrasonography in universities. It should be mentioned that cooperation and communication between universities is the key to a successful progamme, and new horizons in the field of ultrasonography await.

Written by Guoda Liutkutė, 6^th year medical student, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences