Ultrasound device puts SOM on cutting edge

The General Electric portable ultrasound machines that the University of South Carolina School of Medicine is using as a pioneer in technology and curriculum have an additional benefit -- they're easy to take on the road and show prospective students.

"It's been phenomenal in terms of recruiting," says Dr. Richard Hoppmann, the school's associate dean of medical education. "When applicants come through and we tell them about the program, they're very excited. I'm even taking a machine with me (to meetings and recruiting sessions) and doing a brief demonstration. The pre-medical students sense that we are on the cutting edge of medical technology and education."

A partnership between the School of Medicine and GE Healthcare, announced in October 2006, has made it possible for medical students to train on the LOGIQ E ultrasound devices, which are about the size of a laptop computer. Just a few years ago, ultrasound machines were cumbersome pieces of equipment weighing as much as 300 pounds.

"They will be pocket size within the next year or two," Hoppmann says. "They will be the stethoscopes of the 21st century, and our school has a tremendous advantage. Ultrasound is a hands-on technique and you must first learn the skills and the limitations of the technology. The USC School of Medicine is the first school in the country to have a curriculum in ultrasound across all four years. Thus, our students will already have the basic skills and knowledge of ultrasonography and will be able to use the pocket-sized machines as soon as they are available.

"GE has been a great partner in this program. They have facilitated us in receiving the machines and have provided technical and training support. We would not have been able to get the program up and running without their support."

The School of Medicine has become a leader and model for other institutions that want to start their own ultrasound programs. "Now that the word is getting out, I have had calls from several other medical schools interested in starting similar programs."

"We are launching an Ultrasound in Medical Education Interest Group and Web site and rolling that out at the Association of American Medical Colleges meeting in Washington this year. Medical educators can join the interest group which will include a listserv for the exchange of ideas in ultrasound education. The web site will also include links to important resources and a calendar of events."

Student feedback on the first year of training in 2006-07 was overwhelmingly positive. "I feel as though I will be miles ahead of medical students who have not had this practical training," one second-year student commented in a survey.

First- and second-year students get hands-on training in lab sessions and use Web-based learning modules to understand the basics of the technology.

"We've also introduced ultrasound OSCEs, or Objective Structured Clinical Exams, in the third year," Hoppmann says. "On the internal medicine rotation, students have to see a patient who has symptoms of a thyroid problem. After obtaining the history from the patient, they perform the appropriate physical exam followed by an ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland and note any pathology they may find on the exam."

Family medicine has developed a similar OSCE involving a patient at risk for an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

A program is also being developed to introduce ultrasound into two of the school's family medicine rural training sites, benefiting patients, physicians and students alike. "Rural primary care doctors are usually the last to get technology, but we've initiated a program to introduce ultrasound at our facilities in Winnsboro and Bennettsville," Hoppmann says.

"We will set up studies to see how ultrasound affects the quality of care, patient safety, and cost-effectiveness in these settings. We live in a state with a high degree of hypertension, stroke and cardiovascular disease, and ultrasound has direct application in the diagnosis and management of these conditions."

Ultrasound is an important tool, but Hoppmann stresses, "We certainly don't want technology to get between the patient and the physician. One of the things this school is known for is our emphasis on the humanistic side of the physician-patient relationship. We want to incorporate technology into the interaction at the bed side in such a way that the patient remains the focus of the interaction, not the technology."

Harris Pastides, university vice president for research and health sciences, praises the pioneering nature of the technology.

"This is the heart and soul of research," he says. "Each new advance broadens our knowledge and enhances the potential for other discoveries. The University of South Carolina School of Medicine and GE Healthcare have the opportunity to change the practice of medicine."

"It's been phenomenal in terms of recruiting," says Dr. Richard Hoppmann, the school's associate dean of medical education. "When applicants come through and we tell them about the program, they're very excited."

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