Can anatomists teach living anatomy using ultrasound as a teaching tool?

The utilization of bedside ultrasound by an increasing number of medical specialties has created the need for more ultrasound exposure and teaching in medical school. Although there is a widespread support for more vertical integration of ultrasound teaching throughout the undergraduate curriculum, little is known about whether the quality of ultrasound teaching differs if performed by anatomists or clinicians. The purpose of this study is to compare medical students' evaluation of ultrasound anatomy teaching by clinicians and anatomists. Hands-on interactive ultrasound sessions were scheduled as part of the gross anatomy course following principles of adult learning and instructional design. Seven teachers (three anatomists and four clinicians) taught in each session. Before each session, anatomists were trained in ultrasound by clinicians. Students were divided into groups, rotated teachers between sessions, and completed evaluations. Results indicated students perceived the two groups as comparable for all factors except for knowledge organization and the helpfulness of ultrasound for understanding anatomy (P < 0.001). However, results from unpaired samples t-tests demonstrated a nonstatistically significant difference between the groups within each session for both questions. Moreover, students' test performance for both groups was similar. This study demonstrated that anatomists can teach living anatomy using ultrasound with minimal training as well as clinicians, and encourage the teaching of living anatomy by anatomists in human anatomy courses using ultrasound. Repeating this study at a multicenter level is currently being considered to further validate our conclusion.