Ultrasound training could begin as early as college

Medical students may not need to wait for a residency or fellowship to gain experience with ultrasound. They could become familiar with the modality long before graduation, according to a study presented at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine meeting in June.

While interest in diagnostic ultrasound is waning within radiology, clinical applications in other specialties are growing. Ultrasound advocates fear, however, that insufficiently trained clinicians are taking up ultrasound probes, and little information is available about whether they received adequate training early in their careers.

Dr. David Bahner and colleagues at Ohio State University compared the ultrasound skills of medical students who had extracurricular exposure to diagnostic ultrasound with those whose ultrasound training was sketchy. Students who had had specialized education performed several diagnostic ultrasound tests more confidently than those who had not.