Integrating ultrasound education and resources within undergraduate medical education in order to Bring Ultrasound Internationally for Long-term Development (BUILD)

Aims: At the Ohio State University College of Medicine, medical students have the option to train in ultrasound and take part in global electives where they can utilize clinical ultrasound. This presents the opportunity for medical students to engage in bidirectional sharing of medical and ultrasound knowledge in geographic regions with limited resources. We developedBringing Ultrasound Internationally for Long-term development (BUILD), a longitudinal course, to provide standardized ultrasound education to students planning to enroll in global health electives.Material and methods: This was a pilot study of the BUILD curriculum. Third-year medical students planning to complete a global health elective were invited to participate. Enrolled students completed an online curriculum, hands-on scanning, and pathology sessions, which augmented the predeparture Global Health course work. Students received two resource assessments: one to be completed by the student, and one to be completed by the on-site preceptor. Main outcomes measured were number of enrolled students, primary indications for imaging, and number of scans per-day.Results: In total, 152 students participated in the study and traveled to 22 different global sites in Low-Income Countries (LIC’s). All enrolled students completed the curriculum. Between 3 and 25 scans were performed per day and the leading indication for ultrasound imaging was obstetric and abdominal pain evaluation.Conclusions: The BUILD curriculum is a feasible construct to prepare students for using ultrasound during global electives. Students successfully performed proctored scans in a variety of settings. This format can be adopted by other institutions to further support student and global ultrasound programs.

Perceptions of medical students towards and effectiveness of online surgical curriculum: a systematic review

Background Online education has been used as an adjunct modality for teaching and it attracts attention in recent years as many medical students can not accomplish their clerkship in the hospital due to COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to collect the articles related to online surgical education for medical students, and to analyze the effectiveness of online education and the perceptions of the medical students. Method We performed a systemic literature search in PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, ERIC and Cochrane library. Keywords used for searching included “medical student”, “online education”, “online teaching”, “online learning”, “distance learning”, “electronic learning”, “virtual learning” and “surgical”. Medical education research study quality instrument (MERSQI) was used for the evaluation of the quality of the searched articles. Results From 1240 studies retrieved from the databases, 13 articles were included in this study after screening. The publication year was from 2007 to 2021. The mean MERSQI score of the 13 searched articles was 12.5 +/− 1.7 (range 10.0-14.5). There were totally 2023 medical students who attended online surgical curriculum. By online course, improvement of understanding and knowledge on the studied topics could be reached. The confidence in patient encounters could be improved by online curriculum with sharing experiences, discussing, and role playing. However, students felt concentration was poor during online course. Medical students studying through video platform could get better test scores than those studying with textbooks. Regarding basic surgical skills, online teaching of suturing and knot-tying could be possible and was appreciated by the students who could practice away from the hospital and get feedbacks by instructors through online environment. The scores for the clinical competence assessment for incision, suturing and knot-tying were found to be no significant difference between the online teaching group and face-to-face teaching group. Conclusion Online surgical curriculum for medical students is not easy but inevitable in the era of COVID-19 pandemic. Although online course is not the same as physical course, there are some efforts which could be tried to increase the effectiveness. Basic surgical skills could also be taught effectively through online platform. Even if the COVID-19 pandemic is over in the future, online curriculum could still be a helpful adjunct for surgical education.

A Method for Recommending Sports Network Course Resources Based on Collaborative Filtering Technology

In the process of online course resource recommendation, the output of recommendation results is often unstable. Therefore, a physical education online course resource recommendation method based on collaborative filtering technology is proposed. Firstly, the learning preference of e-learners is calculated, the frequency index of the word frequency-inverse document is defined, the correlation between courses is reflected, and the specific needs of students for PE online course resource recommendation are understood. Then, the collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm is used to generate the similarity matrix and correlation matrix, update the edge characteristics of sports online curriculum resources, collect and refine the hidden index of sports online curriculum resources, optimize the prediction rules of the neighborhood of the most similar teaching unit, and complete the recommendation of sports online curriculum resources. Experimental results show that, for 1000 keywords, the method has the highest single average matching degree, the recommendation process is stable, and the F1 value is more than 0.9, and the practical application is ensured.

Online teaching in radiology as a pilot model for modernizing medical education: results of an international study in cooperation with the ESR

Background Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it proved necessary to rapidly change medical education from on-site to online teaching. Thus, medical educators were forced to rethink the purpose of teaching and the best form of transmission of knowledge. In cooperation with the European Society of Radiology (ESR), we investigated the attitudes of radiologists in Europe and North America toward innovative online teaching concepts. Methods In total, 224 radiologists from 31 different countries participated in our cross-sectional, web-based survey study. On a 7-point Likert scale, participants had to answer 27 questions about the online teaching situation before/during the pandemic, technical and social aspects of online teaching and the future role of online teaching in radiology. Results An overwhelming majority stated that radiology is particularly well-suited for online teaching (91%), that online teaching should play a more prominent role after the pandemic (73%) and that lecturers should be familiar with online teaching techniques (89%). Difficulties include a higher workload in preparing online courses (59%), issues with motivating students to follow online courses (56%) and the risk of social isolation (71%). Before the pandemic, only 12% of teaching was provided online; for the future, our participants deemed a proportion of approximately 50% online teaching appropriate. Conclusion Our participants are open-minded about online teaching in radiology. As the best way of transferring knowledge in medical education is still unclear, online teaching offers potential for innovation in radiology education. To support online teaching development, a structured, framework-based “online curriculum” should be established.

86 Virtual MacPeds: Leveling up to the new virtual reality of medical education

Primary Subject area Medical Education Background The COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing measures limited in-person learning experiences for resident postgraduate learners through mandated social distancing measures. Our training program responded by creating online synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities to supplement learning and replace lost experiences. Virtual MacPeds is an online curriculum created using Kern’s six-step approach to curriculum development to supplement resident learning during COVID-19. The curriculum included online lectures, a live teaching calendar that includes links to sessions across rotations and subspecialties, and a resource rolodex with links to online learning materials. Objectives The purpose of this study is to evaluate the components of the Virtual MacPeds curriculum that were most useful to residents. Design/Methods Virtual MacPeds was piloted from March 2020 to June 2020 to 51 core pediatric residents in PGY1-4. The Kirkpatrick Model for learning evaluation was used to assess resident reaction to the implementation of the curriculum. A voluntary online survey was emailed to residents with the opportunity to respond from June to July 2020. Descriptive statistics were used to assess learner engagement and perception of the curriculum. Results Resident response rate was 38.2% (n=20, PGY1 =8, PGY2 =6, PGY3=5, PGY4=1). 95% of respondents had reduced in-person teaching sessions during COVID-19 and 80% had impacted clinical rotations (self-isolation, virtual care, patient volumes). Prior to Virtual MacPeds, 65% used online educational resources. 95% used the curriculum, all of whom found it helpful in fulfilling Royal College learning objectives. 85% of participants attended the online lectures - those who did not attend noted schedule conflict. 100% would use Virtual MacPeds in the future. Participants noted that Virtual MacPeds should include a live teaching schedule (100%), online lectures (84.2%), self-study modules (73.7%), resource rolodex (52.6%) with suggestions for recorded lectures (89.5%) and simulations (57.9%). Conclusion Virtual MacPeds is an acceptable and useful supplement to resident learning during COVID-19. Useful elements of the curriculum include online lectures, a live teaching schedule, resource rolodex and self-study modules.