The Effectiveness of Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma Education Conducted on the Medical College Students

Purpose: Sonongraphic examinations such as extended Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (eFAST) are widely used in Emergency Departments. This study is designed to determine student achievement by teaching medical college students through short training. Methods: 38 participants in their 3rd year of medical school were enrolled in this study. An Emergency Medicine physician trained the students to 2 hours of theoretical training followed by 2 hours of hands on training. Results: The average age of students was 28.1±3.4, with 21 male students. The average of pre-educational test results were 60.4±8.9 and post-educational exam results were 80.1±14.5 (p<0.001). The average success rate of eFAST was 87.5%. But success rate of each items were lowest in checking the hepatorenal recess and the splenorenal recess, each success rate, 65.8% and 68.4%, consecutively. The questionnaires filled out after the study showed that the students were highly interested in this education and that they found the education easy to understand. They also answered that eFAST education is necessary in the medical college curriculum. Conclusion: This study shows that eFAST can be effectively taught to students through short training. [ J Trauma Inj 2016; 29: 82-88 ]