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Abstract Background Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is ideal for providing rapid answers to many clinical problems. It is therefore important that instruction on ultrasound (US) basics be provided as part of university education. The aim of this study was to investigate how a peer-to-peer US course was perceived and if it improved knowledge among medical students. Methods A web-based anonymous questionnaire was sent to medical students at the University of Milan (3rd–6th year) to evaluate: (1) their impressions of US usefulness; (2) their self-reported perception of their US abilities; and (3) their ability to recognize US images. The results were compared between a group of students who participated in peer-to-peer US courses and a group who did not. Results The questionnaire was sent to 803 students, of whom 196 (24.4%) replied. A significant increase in ability to interpret US images was demonstrated among participants taking peer-to-peer courses (n = 91), with a 27.8% reduction in errors (p < 0.05) compared with non-participants. Students from both groups considered US courses useful (4.79/5 and 4.77/5, p = 0.7), while a higher proportion of participants in peer-to-peer courses considered they had received sufficient (≥ 6/10) basic instruction (38% vs 19%, p = 0.003). Conclusions US peer-to-peer courses are considered useful by medical students, and may improve skills, although acceptable training requires more than a few US lessons. Since POCUS is becoming increasingly useful in clinical practice as an extension of physical examination, a greater number of practical courses should be offered to medical students.
Costantino et al. (Tue,) studied this question.