Abstract
Education, education and education were claimed as the three main priorities of a certain former British prime minister. The aims and scope of Ultrasound must also include education as one of its main priorities. In this May 2013 issue of Ultrasound, education features prominently in several forms.
Two articles relate specifically to methods of training and assessment in ultrasound scanning. Beginning the process of learning to carry out transvaginal ultrasound scans (TVUS) is clearly a challenge. Williams et al. describe a study into the benefits of using a TVUS training simulator (ScanTrainer, MedaPhor Ltd, Cardiff, UK) for those new to the technique. The ScanTrainer was found to help trainees to gain familiarity with machine controls and transducer/image orientation and hence build confidence in a ‘safe’ environment before progressing to scanning in clinical practice. This system and other scan training simulators, now available, have the potential to improve the training process for many areas of application. Further research is required to show the impact on improved patient management.
In ultrasound education, the learning outcome of training depends not only on the efforts and abilities of the learner, but also on the effectiveness of the teacher. Colebourn and Jones describe the use of Distance Travelled Analysis to evaluate the performance of ultrasound teachers. Adapted from use in vocational education, this method was found to be beneficial in evaluating the teaching of critical care echocardiography skills. It has the potential to be adopted by other ultrasound teachers.
In addition to these articles on training processes, we have several articles of great educational value. A pictorial review by Chetcuti et al. gives a comprehensive overview of ultrasound assessment of the testes. This review covers a wide range of pathologies including benign, congenital, infection, malignant and polyorchidism. A pictorial review by Chiu et al. gives a similarly comprehensive review of ultrasound of the groin. We also welcome back our point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) team with two articles on ultrasound of the chest. These latest additions to the excellent, long running series on the essentials of PoCUS, describe the basic features of ultrasound images of the chest, as well as the appearances of pathological tissues and fluids in the chest.
As a journal with the title of Ultrasound, read mainly by ultrasound practitioners, it may be that our view of the world can at times be a little narrow. Hopefully, the article by Charan et al. on molecular karyotyping will help to broaden our view. We are all familiar with microscope images of sets of human chromosomes, neatly arranged in pairs, showing their characteristic bands due to staining. This technique, known as metaphase karyotyping, has been the standard method of chromosome testing for several decades. The molecular biology revolution has now brought us molecular karyotyping, allowing analysis of chromosomes on the scale of a single gene. Charan et al. review the potential of this new technique in diagnosing ultrasound detected fetal anomalies and discuss its implementation into clinical practice and the ethical dilemmas that it can raise.
As Ultrasound editors, we would like to provide for the needs of a wide range of readers, from the very experienced (the lifelong learners) to those relatively new to the field. While the former are well placed to contribute to the journal and to the education of others, we would like to give support and encouragement to the less experienced. So we are delighted that one of our team, Jacinta Browne, has volunteered to contribute a series of educational articles entitled ‘Getting started with research’. The series begins in this issue with the first article on defining the research question and preparing a research plan. We hope as editors that one day we will see the fruits of these articles in the form of submissions to the journal.