Adopt telemedicine and e-learning formats for ultrasonography teaching where flexibility, accessibility and cost savings matter¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 5 claims (3 for, 2 mixed) · 1 study (1 review), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The review recommends distance-learning formats as an adjunct for teaching ultrasonography, especially in places that are difficult to access where no schools or universities exist. It lists organizational advantages over classroom lessons: an "Environment free from stressful factors and without judgment", live updates, easy and uniform dissemination of teaching resources, temporal and spatial flexibility for students, and greater accessibility. It also highlights monetary savings, since professionals in rural areas otherwise travel to major centers for training.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Internet access for live video classes; attention to each student's particularities, since some students may not adapt to online teaching because of low levels of interaction or a preference for textbooks over screens

Constraints¶

• The need for internet access in order to have live video classes may be a problem for some locations; reading books on an electronic device is not always a pleasant experience for the learner

Target Learners¶

• medical students
• residents
• physiotherapy students
• nurses
• professionals in rural or resource-limited areas

Target Learning Goals¶

• ultrasound skill acquisition
• image interpretation
• retention of ultrasound knowledge

Claims¶

• Mobile and e-learning approaches showed better patient positioning and transducer handling than traditional teaching, particularly among physiotherapy students [+W]
• Student satisfaction with telemedicine ultrasound teaching is similar to traditional teaching, and distance formats are widely accepted by students [+W]
• Telemedicine-based teaching of ultrasonography produces results similar to traditional methods in most comparative studies, except for venous access procedures where studies disagree [+W]
• Many ultrasound examination types, such as thyroid, neck, breast and prostate, have not been evaluated in primary studies of distance-learning techniques [~W]
• For ultrasound-guided venous access procedures, comparative studies show no agreement on whether distance or traditional teaching is more effective [~W]

Related Strategies¶

• Integrate e-learning as an adjunct to face-to-face teaching in emergency medicine curricula

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Duarte ML, dos Santos LR, Iared W, Peccin MS. (2022). Comparison of ultrasonography learning between distance teaching and traditional methodology. An educational systematic review. São Paulo Medical Journal. https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-3180.2021.1047.R.19052022