Background & Purpose: Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) is essential in orthopedic pain management. Ultrasound guidance increases procedural accuracy over “blind” techniques. Integrating intensive, hands-on needle-based training into undergraduate medical education (UME) is challenging due to demanding curricula and cost-prohibitive simulators. This study evaluates a reproducible, low-cost simulation model designed to facilitate preclinical psychomotor skill acquisition. The primary objective was to assess a multifaceted educational approach combining didactics and simulation, to teach first- and second-year osteopathic medical students ultrasound-guided joint injections and nerve blocks. Secondarily, it assessed academic proficiency and confidence, bridging the gap between didactic learning and clinical practice.
Methods: A prospective cohort analysis was conducted with 35 volunteer medical students. The multi-modal intervention included a didactic session followed by peer-model landmark identification. Participants practiced needle guidance using a novel phantom model (pork chop, gel-filled straw, braided string) simulating nerves and veins. Evaluation utilized a 19-point knowledge quiz featuring orthopedic cases and a 1–10 confidence scale. An ultrasound-trained physician assessed procedural proficiency based on landmark identification and needle-guidance technique. Pre- and post-intervention data were compared using paired-samples t-tests.
Results: Statistically significant improvements occurred across all domains. Knowledge scores rose from a pre-test mean of 12.83 (SD=2.88) to a post-test mean of 16.00 (SD=1.53); t(34)=-7.57, p<.001. Student confidence increased from 2.4/10 to 5.83/10. Physician observation confirmed immediate procedural proficiency in ultrasound alignment and anatomical identification for all participants.
Discussion & Conclusion: Limitations include small sample size, short-term assessment, and potential selection bias. While the porcine model was effective, accessibility and fidelity concerns suggest a need for standardized non-porcine alternatives. This study demonstrates that a low-cost, multifaceted training framework is a viable, scalable addition to UME. Future research should evaluate longitudinal skill retention and explore synthetic models or AI-assisted needle tracking.
Methods: A prospective cohort analysis was conducted with 35 volunteer medical students. The multi-modal intervention included a didactic session followed by peer-model landmark identification. Participants practiced needle guidance using a novel phantom model (pork chop, gel-filled straw, braided string) simulating nerves and veins. Evaluation utilized a 19-point knowledge quiz featuring orthopedic cases and a 1–10 confidence scale. An ultrasound-trained physician assessed procedural proficiency based on landmark identification and needle-guidance technique. Pre- and post-intervention data were compared using paired-samples t-tests.
Results: Statistically significant improvements occurred across all domains. Knowledge scores rose from a pre-test mean of 12.83 (SD=2.88) to a post-test mean of 16.00 (SD=1.53); t(34)=-7.57, p<.001. Student confidence increased from 2.4/10 to 5.83/10. Physician observation confirmed immediate procedural proficiency in ultrasound alignment and anatomical identification for all participants.
Discussion & Conclusion: Limitations include small sample size, short-term assessment, and potential selection bias. While the porcine model was effective, accessibility and fidelity concerns suggest a need for standardized non-porcine alternatives. This study demonstrates that a low-cost, multifaceted training framework is a viable, scalable addition to UME. Future research should evaluate longitudinal skill retention and explore synthetic models or AI-assisted needle tracking.