A relatively new AIUM award, the Peter H. Arger, MD, Excellence in Medical Student Education Award honors an AIUM member whose outstanding contributions to the development of medical ultrasound education warrant special merit. At the 2015 AIUM Annual Convention, David Bahner, MD, RDMS, was presented with this award. Here’s what he had to say about this honor and the future of medical ultrasound education.
What does it mean to you to be named only the second recipient of the Peter H. Arger Excellence in Medical Student Education Award winner?
I am very honored to be recognized by the AIUM and feel it is an honor to receive this award named after a pioneer in imaging, Dr Peter H. Arger. Dr Arger’s passion for medical education and his commitment to ultrasound is well known. It is my hope to continue those activities in medical education that Dr Arger pioneered in his work with the AIUM. Watching the first award winner, Dr Richard Hoppmann, receive this award last year was a thrill because it meant that the AIUM was recognizing the importance of medical ultrasound education. I am grateful for this great honor and hope to live up to the substantial role model Dr Peter Arger has been for this important area in ultrasound.
Why is ultrasound in medical education so important?
In the past, the feeling that ultrasound is operator dependent has been a drag on its impact within medicine. However, since medical education has been changing at many institutions because of electronic medical records, changes in curricula, and changes in technology, opportunities for point-of-care ultrasound now abound. Add to that the fact that ultrasound has become portable and affordable, and we see more operators embracing this modality. Unfortunately, the training for this device many times doesn’t starts until residency or even after clinicians have completed their medical training. By that time, however, the technology has outpaced the education. If the future can be planned to prepare 21st century clinicians to use this ultrasound tool, implementing this within medical school allows “pluripotent” students the ability to learn the foundations of ultrasound before entering residency.
What do you see as the biggest barrier to having ultrasound integrated into the medical education curriculum?
The lack of trained faculty either funded or supported in this process of training medical students is the biggest barrier to implementing ultrasound training in medical school. This lack of faculty is coupled with a “crowded’ curriculum where medical educators don’t see the benefit of adding ultrasound at the expense of removing other parts of the curriculum. The true insight is that ultrasound can be integrated into many parts of the medical student curriculum when both teachers and students embrace learning how to use ultrasound. For example, anatomists learning how to scan or family practitioners working with ultrasound to guide procedures are possible solutions to these barriers.
You are a born and bred Ohioan. Why are people from Ohio so proud of Ohio?
It probably has something to do with the history of the state and how that has played into innovation, politics and competitiveness. Ohio is best known for the Wright Brothers who hailed from Dayton and used their hard work and innovation to change the 20th century with the discovery of lift and flight. Politically it has been an influential state in most presidential elections. Plus, 6 presidents are from Ohio. Ohioans are fierce competitors and extremely proud of the 16 national football championships earned by The Ohio State University. Oh, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are located within Ohio. We have a lot to be proud of.
Personally, my family grew up in Ohio and I feel a bond with the change of seasons, the geography, the history, the people, and the culture of hard work and helping others. I am an American, an Ohioan, a doctor, an educator, an innovator, and a Buckeye.
What role does or should ultrasound play in medical education? What are you proud of? Where did you learn your ultrasound skills? Comment below or let us know on Twitter: @AIUM_Ultrasound.
David Bahner, MD, RDMS, is Professor and Director of Ultrasound in the Department of Emergency Medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
It is always good to see improvement in education. Nice Blog
Congratulations to the recipient. It is always a positive to see improvements in education. With that said I firmly assert that as a physician I would NEVER let and MD or DO perform a diagnostic ultrasound on me! Ultrasound is experienced based and unless you are doing it day in and day out you simply do not have the experience. People go to school specifically for ultrasound. This is no different then the physician that goes outside of their practice area. When my liver needs to be checked I want the person who has scanned thousands of livers not the physician who has seen a couple hundred and wants to make a few extra bucks off my visit.
Integrating ultrasound in teaching of anatomy, allows student to visualise live dynamic images. Getting familiar with ultrasound images from the preclinical years, the students can learn much better in the clinical years as use of ultrasound is becoming more common on the bedside, at the point of care.