Teaching Bedside Ultrasound with Remote Supervision vs. In-Person Instruction

This trial tested a new way to teach medical students how to use portable ultrasound machines at the bedside — using experienced student peers as instructors with a teacher supervising remotely by video, rather than having the teacher present in person. The researchers studied whether this approach worked just as well as the traditional method where the instructor was physically there.

Point-of-care ultrasound is an important skill for doctors, but teaching it typically requires hands-on practice with an instructor present in the room. During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical schools needed to find safer ways to teach this skill while keeping physical contact low, so researchers wanted to test whether remote supervision by an experienced teacher — combined with peer instructors doing the hands-on teaching — could be an effective alternative.