Evaluating the efficacy of a cost-effective PC-based tool as an equivalent alternative to traditional ultrasound simulators in medical education.

Abstract

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an important skill for healthcare professionals. However, adding POCUS training to medical education can be difficult because ultrasound simulators can be expensive. This study assessed whether an interactive, PowerPoint-based computer tool could be a valid alternative to an entry-level ultrasound simulator for teaching medical students how to perform thoracic and abdominal ultrasounds. This randomized controlled equivalence trial employed a two-arm, multi-station design involving 455 third-year medical students participating in an "Approach to Ultrasound" internship. Students underwent different training methodologies, including simulation-based sessions and hands-on practice with healthy volunteers, utilizing either a traditional ultrasound simulator or an interactive PowerPoint-based application designed to simulate ultrasound scenarios. Skills in image optimization ("OSAUS score in Healthy Volunteer") and pathology recognition ("Recognizing Pathologic score") were evaluated pre-and post-training. The margin for confirming the equivalence analysis was set at 0.5 points for the primary outcome. 408 students completed the training. Both groups improved significantly after training, with mean OSAUS scores increasing by more than 1.9 points and pathology recognition scores increasing by over 1.5 points. Differences between the two groups were minimal (OSAUS: 0.06 points; pathology recognition: 0.02 points) and within the equivalence margin, showing that the PC-based tool was as effective as the simulator. Simulation-based internships are essential to medical education, providing innovative and effective learning strategies for developing ultrasound skills. Exploring new tools, such as the PC-based solution tested in this study, is essential to making this method more accessible, especially in resource-limited settings.