A Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Course for Orthopedic Surgery Residents

NCT ID: NCT04204369

Last Updated: 2019-12-19

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 10 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2017-11-06
• Study Completion Date: 2018-07-06

Brief Summary

A group of orthopedic surgery residents underwent a structured online and practical musculoskeletal ultrasound course. Their proficiency on a written and practical exam, as well as frequency and comfort when using was recorded prior to the course, immediately after, and 6 months after the course.

Detailed Description

Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSK-US) can have many uses for orthopedic surgeons, such as assisting in clinical diagnosis for muscle, tendon and ligament injuries, providing direct guidance for joint injections, or assessing the adequacy of a reduction in the emergency department. However, proficiency in sonography is not a requirement for certification in orthopedic surgery in Canada, and orthopedic trainees are rarely exposed to the subject. This project aims assess the usefulness in clinical education of a newly implemented MSK-US course in an orthopedic surgery program.

An MSK-US course for orthopedic surgery residents has been developed. An online survey covering the level of training of the resident, their prior experience with ultrasound (number of times used by month) and their comfort level with different parts of the examination (numeric analog scale - NAS), was filled by the participants prior to the course. A pre-course written and practical test was also given to the residents. Following the course, the participants were reassessed with the same tests and surveys on the same day as the course, and at 6 months post. Change in frequency of use, comfort level and test scores were assessed using a Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA and post-hoc Wilcoxon tests.

It was expected that residents' frequency of use, comfort level and tests scores would improve following the implementation of the course. The results were expected to be maintained at the 6 months endpoint.

Conditions

Tendon Disorder

Keywords

point of care ultrasound; musculoskeletal ultrasound; sonography; resident education; orthopaedic surgery; online curriculum

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Teaching arm

This group received the teaching intervention and was evaluated before and after the intervention. Improvement was compared to their performance prior to the intervention.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Ultrasound education curriculum

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants were enrolled in a musculoskeletal ultrasound course including 2 components:

• An online course (1-2 hours) to be done before the practical session. The videos were made available one (1) month prior to the practical course. This component reviewed the basics of ultrasonography, as well as the normal and abnormal appearance of relevant musculoskeletal structures (bone, tendon, ligaments, muscles, bursas, and nerves), and the ultrasound anatomy of high yield regions of the musculoskeletal system (shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle)
• A practical session (4-6 hours) done during one of the usual academic days of the orthopedic residency program. This session covered the use of the ultrasound; the examination of the shoulder, elbow, knee, and ankle; ultrasound-guided musculoskeletal injections and aspirations; and ultrasound-guided distal radius fracture reductions. Ample practice time was given to the residents using means such as phantom models, cadavers, and real patients.

Interventions

Ultrasound education curriculum

Participants were enrolled in a musculoskeletal ultrasound course including 2 components:

• An online course (1-2 hours) to be done before the practical session. The videos were made available one (1) month prior to the practical course. This component reviewed the basics of ultrasonography, as well as the normal and abnormal appearance of relevant musculoskeletal structures (bone, tendon, ligaments, muscles, bursas, and nerves), and the ultrasound anatomy of high yield regions of the musculoskeletal system (shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle)
• A practical session (4-6 hours) done during one of the usual academic days of the orthopedic residency program. This session covered the use of the ultrasound; the examination of the shoulder, elbow, knee, and ankle; ultrasound-guided musculoskeletal injections and aspirations; and ultrasound-guided distal radius fracture reductions. Ample practice time was given to the residents using means such as phantom models, cadavers, and real patients.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Be an orthopedic surgery resident
• Training at the University of Manitoba
• Post-graduate year (PGY) one to five

Exclusion Criteria

• Residents having less than six months of training left before graduation
• Residents on extended leave (for example: completing graduate studies abroad, parental leave, and sabbatical)

• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Université de Sherbrooke

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Samuel Larrivee, MD-MSc

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Manitoba

Locations

University of Manitoba

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Countries

Canada

Other Identifiers

H2017:227 (HS20921)

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id