As a group of students, we had only learned about the World Congress of Ultrasound in Medical Education Conference (WCUME17) a couple of months ago. We were excited to enter the Ultrasound World Cup and gauge where our ultrasound skills compared to other students and schools worldwide. It was incredible to see how involved other students and schools are in undergrad ultrasound medical education across the world. In addition, it was eye opening to see the neat technology emerging into the medical education sphere including video games, learning modules, wireless and gel-less ultrasound probes and augmented reality ultrasound all with the aim of making the process of integrating ultrasound into medical education easier and appealing.

Aside from learning that Dr. Olszynski’s poutine record is three poutines in 24 hours, it really was an experience saturated with quality learning of multiple clinical ultrasonography applications including: Lung, MSK, Hemodynamics, Echo, and Family Medicine applications workshops that were attended by members of our two teams. These learning opportunities were invaluable because not only were we gaining new skills in the field of ultrasound, but we were learning these skills from some of the top doctors in ultrasound from across the world! It was great to be up close and personal with leaders in various fields and to receive their expertise regarding current and emerging ultrasound applications.

Pictured above – the World Cup of Ultrasound Final with teams from Iran, USA and Canada (the Prairie Probes from USASK)

The chance to compete against other students around the world in the World Cup of ultrasound was a blast – an experience full of challenges and key learning moments that we are sure will serve us well in our future medical careers. Both of the U of S teams did very well – which provided us with positive reinforcement with regards to the teaching we have receivedover the years in conjunction with our own self learning. We were thrilled to learn that one of our 2 teams (the Prairie Probes) had advanced to the World Cup of Ultrasound Final – representing both USASK and Canada on the world stage.

Above – The teams, hosts and judges come together for a group photo

It’s our hope that efforts to educate medical students in ultrasound continue to expand at the U of S with the ongoing support of the undergraduate ultrasound program. By speaking with other students we gained an even greater appreciation for the opportunities we have had to pursue and develop ultrasound skills. This conference provided another platform for us to increase our depth of ultrasound knowledge and meet some great people along the way.

Sincerely,

The Prairie Probes: Robert (Troy) Appleton, Anurag Dalai, and Andrew (AJ) Donauer

Scan Skatchewan: Eric Brenna, Rachit Batta, and Jeffrey Poon

PS: Soon after learning and being inspired by Dr. Olszynski’s poutine record, Team Scan-Skatchewan matched that feat as well!