ABSTRACT
BackgroundMusculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) is increasingly gaining importance as an imaging tool in rheumatology. Most training programs currently address resident doctors. However, several studies have demonstrated that teaching MSUS to medical students improves their palpation skills and understanding of musculoskeletal anatomy. With the development of portable ultrasound devices, MSUS education is lately getting more flexible and location-independent. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic raised awareness of telemedicine training as a powerful tool to ensure the teaching of practical skills under pandemic conditions.ObjectivesThe purpose of our study is to establish a telemedical MSUS course for medical students and to compare its effectiveness with a conventional on-campus course as a world-wide pilot study. In doing so, we aim to expand student educational opportunities in MSUS using innovative teaching options while ensuring quality maintenance of teaching.MethodsThirty medical students were randomized to either a virtual group being delivered only telemedicine instructions, or an on-campus cohort receiving the course in a conventional format. Each student was provided with a handheld ultrasound device. Prior to the start of the course, the students' skills were assessed with an Objective Clinical Structured Examination (OSCE). During the course, a DEGUM-III-certified course instructor taught the basic physics of ultrasound and standard sections of the MUDE ultrasound protocol[1]. In order to quantify the students' learning progress, a second OSCE was carried out after completion of the course. [1].ResultsAt the time of this analysis, data collection within the on-campus course has already been completed, whereas the virtual course is still ongoing. While the average score of the students in the PRE-course OSCE was 21,02% (SD ±6,78), the students were able to achieve an average of 90% (SD ±6,81) in the POST-course OSCE after the intervention.ConclusionWith the results obtained so far, it can be shown that an innovative course concept with hand-held ultrasound devices, originally developed for dermatologists to improve the detection of psoriatic arthritis, can be used very well in student teaching without major modifications and leads to a significant increase in MSUS skills among medical students. The TELMUS study thereby offers a successful example of extending an existing course concept to student teaching and thus promoting the next generation of rheumatologists.Reference[1]Grobelski J, Recker F, Wilsmann- Theis D, et al. Etablierung und Validierung eines didaktischen muskuloskelettalen Ultraschallkurses für Dermatologen unter Verwendung eines innovativen Hand-Ultraschallsystems – die MUDE-Studie (Muskuloskelettaler Ultraschall für Dermatologen). J Deutsche Derma Gesell 2021;19:1753–60. doi:10.1111/ddg.14614_gFigure 1.Acknowledgements:NIL.Disclosure of InterestsNone Declared.