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Today’s medical students should be the most well-versed generation with point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). More schools than ever are offering a POCUS curriculum—and the technology’s real-world value has never been higher.
Still, engaging digital-native students can be challenging, particularly due to limited access to skilled trainers. This blog explores how gamifying the training process using handheld devices can solve that problem and drive higher POCUS engagement in undergraduate medical education (UME).
Over 90% of medical students believe POCUS training is “vital” to a well-rounded UME,[1] with research suggesting early-career experience with the technology leads to:
- Enhanced Educational Outcomes: Using POCUS to apply newly acquired anatomical knowledge helps students better comprehend spatial relationships and physiology[2] The technology bridges the gap between theoretical and practical learning, leading to improved performance in skills assessments such as OSCEs or anatomy practicals.[3]
- Improved Residency Matching: Residency programs across many specialties increasingly value candidates with prior POCUS experience, and some strongly prefer it. Such experience also improves performance during the program; one survey found that 77% of respondents said POCUS experience enriched their residency practice.[4]
- Greater Clinical Skill: Growing clinical adoption means students need these skills to function as real-world medical professionals. Skilled image acquisition and interpretation support faster diagnosis and triage in urgent scenarios.
However, despite a large majority of students today gaining some experience with the technology, most lack confidence.[5]
[1] https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-025-06825-4
[2] https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-024-06483-y
[3] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10751098/
[4] https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jom-2024-0046/html?lang=en
[5]https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-025-06825-4
Students need regular feedback from expert POCUS users to correct errors, develop new technical skills, and build confidence using the technology. Without them, theyare liable to:
- Develop poor technique or stall in their technical development
- Get frustrated with the technology and become resistant to future training
- Feel uncertain that their image acquisition or interpretation meets best practices
The problem is that most schools have limited staffing resources—one of the most common barriers toPOCUS training. This leads them to limit or even decide against introducing a POCUS curriculum. However, a new approach is emerging that may overcome this challenge.
The assumption that POCUS training requires a fixed number of hours of expert supervision is known as “time-based learning,” and it is being replaced.“Competency-based learning” focuses on the outcomes of training, allowing students to work independently to build their POCUS skills.
This is facilitated by the development of handheld POCUS devices that are easily portable, considerably cheaper, and connect to WIFI to enable rapid image sharing that eliminates geographical barriers.
The result? Students are empowered to practice more, learn faster, and build greater autonomy and confidence with POCUS. But that only works if they actually embrace the technology.
Discover proven steps to introduce a complete POCUS curriculum—from program design to device procurement.
__
Gamification involves bringing elements of competitive game-play—such as leaderboards, badges, and rewards—into another area. For POCUS training, it helps engage younger students who may feel their image acquisition practice is too abstract and removed from real-world applications.
Research has shown that applying this approach to POCUS is:
- Popular: Almost all (98%) of students like the idea of gamifying POCUS training,[6]with 86% saying it increased their enthusiasm for the technology.[7]
- Effective: One study found that 81% of participants in competitive POCUS games said their knowledge of the technology increased.
- Practical: Another experiment found that gamifying POCUS measured actual clinical performance.[8]
The question then become show exactly to implement gamified POCUS training at scale.
[6] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11410292/
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29676524/
[8]https://westjem.com/articles/gamification-of-pocus-are-students-learning.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
This is where innovative solutions like Vave Health’s handheld devices and MedEd platform come in—empowering schools to integrate ultrasound training into their curriculum with ease.
Our handheld POCUS devices are:
- Portable: With no cords, students can easily transport them safely to practice image acquisition anywhere.
- User-Friendly: Our user interface(UI) is highly intuitive and makes scanning, interpreting, and sharing images easy.
- Cost-Effective: Our model avoids ongoing subscription fees, helping reduce financial barriers to adoption.
Better still, our team partners with you to assess your requirements, develop a custom curriculum, and even train your instructors. With pre-built learning modules, quizzes, and exams to track your students’ progress. Our platform is designed to support development of key POCUS skills, including image acquisition, interpretation, and integration into clinical context.
Want to ensure your students get the POCUS education they deserve?
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Today’s medical students should be the most well-versed generation with point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). More schools than ever are offering a POCUS curriculum—and the technology’s real-world value has never been higher.
Still, engaging digital-native students can be challenging, particularly due to limited access to skilled trainers. This blog explores how gamifying the training process using handheld devices can solve that problem and drive higher POCUS engagement in undergraduate medical education (UME).
Over 90% of medical students believe POCUS training is “vital” to a well-rounded UME,[1] with research suggesting early-career experience with the technology leads to:
- Enhanced Educational Outcomes: Using POCUS to apply newly acquired anatomical knowledge helps students better comprehend spatial relationships and physiology[2] The technology bridges the gap between theoretical and practical learning, leading to improved performance in skills assessments such as OSCEs or anatomy practicals.[3]
- Improved Residency Matching: Residency programs across many specialties increasingly value candidates with prior POCUS experience, and some strongly prefer it. Such experience also improves performance during the program; one survey found that 77% of respondents said POCUS experience enriched their residency practice.[4]
- Greater Clinical Skill: Growing clinical adoption means students need these skills to function as real-world medical professionals. Skilled image acquisition and interpretation support faster diagnosis and triage in urgent scenarios.
However, despite a large majority of students today gaining some experience with the technology, most lack confidence.[5]
[1] https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-025-06825-4
[2] https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-024-06483-y
[3] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10751098/
[4] https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jom-2024-0046/html?lang=en
[5]https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-025-06825-4
Students need regular feedback from expert POCUS users to correct errors, develop new technical skills, and build confidence using the technology. Without them, theyare liable to:
- Develop poor technique or stall in their technical development
- Get frustrated with the technology and become resistant to future training
- Feel uncertain that their image acquisition or interpretation meets best practices
The problem is that most schools have limited staffing resources—one of the most common barriers toPOCUS training. This leads them to limit or even decide against introducing a POCUS curriculum. However, a new approach is emerging that may overcome this challenge.
The assumption that POCUS training requires a fixed number of hours of expert supervision is known as “time-based learning,” and it is being replaced.“Competency-based learning” focuses on the outcomes of training, allowing students to work independently to build their POCUS skills.
This is facilitated by the development of handheld POCUS devices that are easily portable, considerably cheaper, and connect to WIFI to enable rapid image sharing that eliminates geographical barriers.
The result? Students are empowered to practice more, learn faster, and build greater autonomy and confidence with POCUS. But that only works if they actually embrace the technology.
Discover proven steps to introduce a complete POCUS curriculum—from program design to device procurement.
__
Gamification involves bringing elements of competitive game-play—such as leaderboards, badges, and rewards—into another area. For POCUS training, it helps engage younger students who may feel their image acquisition practice is too abstract and removed from real-world applications.
Research has shown that applying this approach to POCUS is:
- Popular: Almost all (98%) of students like the idea of gamifying POCUS training,[6]with 86% saying it increased their enthusiasm for the technology.[7]
- Effective: One study found that 81% of participants in competitive POCUS games said their knowledge of the technology increased.
- Practical: Another experiment found that gamifying POCUS measured actual clinical performance.[8]
The question then become show exactly to implement gamified POCUS training at scale.
[6] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11410292/
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29676524/
[8]https://westjem.com/articles/gamification-of-pocus-are-students-learning.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
This is where innovative solutions like Vave Health’s handheld devices and MedEd platform come in—empowering schools to integrate ultrasound training into their curriculum with ease.
Our handheld POCUS devices are:
- Portable: With no cords, students can easily transport them safely to practice image acquisition anywhere.
- User-Friendly: Our user interface(UI) is highly intuitive and makes scanning, interpreting, and sharing images easy.
- Cost-Effective: Our model avoids ongoing subscription fees, helping reduce financial barriers to adoption.
Better still, our team partners with you to assess your requirements, develop a custom curriculum, and even train your instructors. With pre-built learning modules, quizzes, and exams to track your students’ progress. Our platform is designed to support development of key POCUS skills, including image acquisition, interpretation, and integration into clinical context.
Want to ensure your students get the POCUS education they deserve?
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With no hidden fees or other unwelcome surprises, Vave offers high-quality imaging at the best price.
