Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-20-2025
Abstract
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine whether exposure to musculoskeletal (MSK) ultrasound (US) enhanced medical students’ knowledge and self-efficacy in understanding basic US principles, MSK anatomy and physical examination, and use of US to evaluate MSK structures. Materials and Methods: Forty-three second-year medical students were divided into control (n = 22) and experimental (n = 21) groups. All participants completed a pre-session self-efficacy questionnaire and were encouraged to view a recorded 20-min MSK US lecture. All participants then attended a physician-led 35-min MSK US hands-on scanning session covering the shoulder and knee. The control group took a multiple-choice assessment before the session, while the experimental group took the same assessment after the session. All participants completed a post-session self-efficacy questionnaire. After the session, the physician instructors attended a 30-min Zoom focus group. Results: Participants’ self-efficacy in understanding basic US principles, knee and shoulder anatomy, physical examination, and sonoanatomy significantly improved after the MSK US session (all p < 0.01). Participants who took the content assessment after the MSK US session outperformed participants who took the assessment before the MSK US session (p = 0.02). Qualitative open-ended question responses from students and instructor focus group discussion detailed strengths and shortcomings and proposed actionable improvements for future iterations of the MSK US curriculum. Conclusion: When implemented at a point in the preclinical curriculum where US experience was previously absent, a single, focused physician-led 35-min US session covering the shoulder and knee is an effective adjunct educational tool for preclinical medical students to reinforce US basics, MSK anatomy and physical examination and improve self-efficacy in MSK US scanning.
Keywords
medical education, musculoskeletal anatomy, musculoskeletal ultrasound, physical examination
Language
English
Publication Title
Medical Science Educator
Grant
UM1 TR004528
Rights
© The Author(s) 2025. This is an Open Access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Cowan, N., Sattar, A., Wu, Q. et al. Unlocking Musculoskeletal Anatomy: Enhancing Second-Year Medical Students’ Knowledge Recall and Self-Efficacy with a Physician-Led Ultrasound Session. Med.Sci.Educ. 35, 2063–2074 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-025-02414-8
Manuscript Version
Final Publisher Version