The Future Stethoscope of Medical Students

Ultrasound technology, especially hand-held ultrasound, is predicted to be the stethoscope of the future. Ultrasound imaging is a rapidly changing field, with ongoing development of new technologies for diagnostics and treatment of medical conditions. Medical students and residents will need training in this new technology to function as competent physicians in the future.

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine will host Richard A. Hoppmann, M.D., FACP, dean and professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, to present at the Dean’s Annual Leadership Forum at noon March 7 at the TTUHSC Academic Classroom Building 3601 Fourth St. Room 110.

Hoppmann will present, “Advanced Ultrasound Technologies: Application to Point-of-Care Use and Incorporation into Medical Student Education,” and also will visit with faculty to introduce the integrated ultrasound curriculum concept. This curriculum seeks to introduce medical students to ultrasound technology at the earliest phases of medical education, specifically anatomy and physiology in the first year.

The new technology then will be incorporated at all levels of medical education, moving from basic to clinical sciences. Hoppmann will visit with faculty engaged in all levels of the medical curriculum from undergraduate, postgraduate or resident and at continuing medical education.

Steven L. Berk, M.D., TTUHSC executive vice president and provost and School of Medicine dean, said few schools across the country are teaching ultrasound technology at all levels, but the TTUHSC School of Medicine would like to integrate the technology in the curriculum.

“Future physicians will use handheld ultrasound machines to improve physical exam techniques and make more accurate diagnoses at the bedside,” Berk said. “But ultrasound is becoming a valuable educational tool as well. Students will correlate gross anatomy lessons with ultrasound visualization of the vital organs and better appreciate the dynamics of organ systems. The ultrasound curriculum will be another example of our school’s innovative approach to medical education.”

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