• Chun Ka Wong, JoJo Hai, Kwong Yue Eric Chan, Ka Chun Un, Mi Zhou, Duo Huang, Yang Yang Cheng, Wen Hua Li, Li Xue Yin, Wen Sheng Yue, Hung Fat Tse, Pauline Yeung, Pok Siu Yip, Vivian Kam Sheung Li, Arren Chan, Michelle Cheung, Chi Wai Cheung, Chu Pak Lau, and Chung Wah Siu.
• Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China cwdsiu@yahoo.com.hk cplau@hku.hk.
• Postgrad Med J. 2021 Jan 1; 97 (1143): 10-15.

BackgroundLittle is known about the impact of the provision of handheld point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) devices on physical examination skills of medical students.MethodsWe describe an educational initiative that comprised a POCUS workshop followed by allocation of a POCUS device to medical students for use over the subsequent 8 weeks. They were encouraged to scan patients and correlate their physical examination findings. A mobile instant messaging group discussion platform was set to provide feedback from instructors. Physical examination skills were assessed by means of clinical examination.Results210 final-year medical students from the University of Hong Kong participated in the programme. 46.3% completed the end of programme electronic survey: 74.6% enjoyed using the POCUS device, 50.0% found POCUS useful to validate physical examination findings and 47.7% agreed that POCUS increased their confidence with physical examination. 93.9% agreed that the programme should be incorporated into the medical curriculum and 81.9% would prefer keeping the device for longer time from 16 weeks (45.6%) to over 49 weeks (35.3%). Medical students who participated in the POCUS programme had a higher mean score for abdominal examination compared with those from the previous academic year with no POCUS programme (3.65±0.52 vs 3.21±0.80, p=0.014), but there was no statistically significant difference in their mean score for cardiovascular examination (3.62±0.64 vs 3.36±0.93, p=0.203).ConclusionThe POCUS programme that included provision of a personal handheld POCUS device improved students' attitude, confidence and ability to perform a physical examination.© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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