BACKGROUND: Point-of-care ultrasound has emerged as a powerful diagnostic tool and is also being increasingly used by clinicians to guide procedures. Many current and future internists desire training, yet no formal, multiple-application, program-wide teaching interventions have been described. INTERVENTION: We describe a structured 30-hour ultrasound training course in diagnostic and procedural ultrasound implemented during intern orientation. Internal medicine interns learned basic ultrasound physics and machine skills; focused cardiac, great vessel, pulmonary, and abdominal ultrasound diagnostic examinations; and procedural applications. RESULTS: In postcourse testing, learners demonstrated the ability to acquire images, had significantly increased knowledge scores (P < .001), and demonstrated good performance on practical scenarios designed to test abilities in image acquisition, interpretation, and incorporation into medical decision making. In the postcourse survey, learners strongly agreed (4.6 of 5.0) that ultrasound skills would be valuable during residency and in their careers. CONCLUSIONS: A structured ultrasound course can increase knowledge and can result in learners who have skills in image acquisition, interpretation, and integration in management. Future work will focus on refining and improving these skills to allow these learners to be entrusted with the use of ultrasound independently for patient care decisions.
BACKGROUND: Point-of-care ultrasound has emerged as a powerful diagnostic tool and is also being increasingly used by clinicians to guide procedures. Many current and future internists desire training, yet no formal, multiple-application, program-wide teaching interventions have been described. INTERVENTION: We describe a structured 30-hour ultrasound training course in diagnostic and procedural ultrasound implemented during intern orientation. Internal medicine interns learned basic ultrasound physics and machine skills; focused cardiac, great vessel, pulmonary, and abdominal ultrasound diagnostic examinations; and procedural applications. RESULTS: In postcourse testing, learners demonstrated the ability to acquire images, had significantly increased knowledge scores (P < .001), and demonstrated good performance on practical scenarios designed to test abilities in image acquisition, interpretation, and incorporation into medical decision making. In the postcourse survey, learners strongly agreed (4.6 of 5.0) that ultrasound skills would be valuable during residency and in their careers. CONCLUSIONS: A structured ultrasound course can increase knowledge and can result in learners who have skills in image acquisition, interpretation, and integration in management. Future work will focus on refining and improving these skills to allow these learners to be entrusted with the use of ultrasound independently for patient care decisions.
Authors: Nelia Afonso; David Amponsah; James Yang; Jennifer Mendez; Patrick Bridge; Gregory Hays; Sudhir Baliga; Karen Crist; Simone Brennan; Matt Jackson; Scott Dulchavsky Journal: J Gen Intern Med Date: 2010-08-10 Impact factor: 5.128
Authors: Christopher L Moore; Geoffrey A Rose; Vivek S Tayal; D Matthew Sullivan; James A Arrowood; Jeffrey A Kline Journal: Acad Emerg Med Date: 2002-03 Impact factor: 3.451
Authors: Benedicte Coiffier; Pascale Chung Hang Shen; Elaine Yuen Phin Lee; Teresa Sui Ping Kwong; Alta Yee Tak Lai; Esther Man Fung Wong; Keith Wan Hang Chiu; Varut Vardhanabhuti; Pek Lan Khong Journal: Ultrasound Date: 2019-05-17
Authors: Andrew P J Olson; Bernard Trappey; Michael Wagner; Michael Newman; L James Nixon; Daniel Schnobrich Journal: Crit Ultrasound J Date: 2015-09-17