Jonathan Gaudet1, Jason Waechter, Kevin McLaughlin, André Ferland, Tomás Godinez, Colin Bands, Paul Boucher, Jocelyn Lockyer. 1. 1Department of Critical Care Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 2Department of Anesthesia, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 3Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 4Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Little attention has been placed on assessment tools to evaluate image acquisition quality for focused critical care echocardiography. We designed a novel assessment tool to objectively evaluate the image acquisition skills of critical care trainees learning focused critical care echocardiography and examined the tool for evidence of validity. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Medical-surgical ICUs at a tertiary care teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: Trainees in our critical care medicine fellowship program. INTERVENTIONS: Six trainees completed a focused critical care echocardiography training curriculum followed by performing 20 transthoracic echocardiograms on patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. At three assessment intervals (the 1st and 2nd examinations, 10th and 11th examinations, and 19th and 20th examinations), echocardiograms performed by trainees were compared with those of critical care physicians certified in echocardiography and scored according to the focused critical care echocardiography assessment tool. The primary outcome was an efficiency score (overall assessment tool score divided by examination time). Differences in mean efficiency scores between echocardiographers of differing skill levels and changes in trainees' mean efficiency scores with increasing focused critical care echocardiography experience were compared by using t tests. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: On the initial assessment, mean efficiency scores (SD) for trainees and experienced physicians were 1.55 (0.95) versus 2.78 (1.38), respectively (p = 0.02), and for the second and third assessments, the corresponding efficiency ratings for trainees and experienced physicians were 2.48 (0.97) versus 4.55 (1.32) (p < 0.01) and 2.61 (1.37) versus 4.17 (2.12) (p = 0.04), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Trainees' efficiency in focused critical care echocardiography image acquisition improved quickly in the first 10 studies, yet, it could not match with the performance of experienced physicians after 20 focused critical care echocardiography studies. The focused critical care echocardiography assessment tool demonstrated evidence of validity and could discern changes in trainees' image acquisition performance with increasing experience.
OBJECTIVES: Little attention has been placed on assessment tools to evaluate image acquisition quality for focused critical care echocardiography. We designed a novel assessment tool to objectively evaluate the image acquisition skills of critical care trainees learning focused critical care echocardiography and examined the tool for evidence of validity. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Medical-surgical ICUs at a tertiary care teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: Trainees in our critical care medicine fellowship program. INTERVENTIONS: Six trainees completed a focused critical care echocardiography training curriculum followed by performing 20 transthoracic echocardiograms on patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. At three assessment intervals (the 1st and 2nd examinations, 10th and 11th examinations, and 19th and 20th examinations), echocardiograms performed by trainees were compared with those of critical care physicians certified in echocardiography and scored according to the focused critical care echocardiography assessment tool. The primary outcome was an efficiency score (overall assessment tool score divided by examination time). Differences in mean efficiency scores between echocardiographers of differing skill levels and changes in trainees' mean efficiency scores with increasing focused critical care echocardiography experience were compared by using t tests. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: On the initial assessment, mean efficiency scores (SD) for trainees and experienced physicians were 1.55 (0.95) versus 2.78 (1.38), respectively (p = 0.02), and for the second and third assessments, the corresponding efficiency ratings for trainees and experienced physicians were 2.48 (0.97) versus 4.55 (1.32) (p < 0.01) and 2.61 (1.37) versus 4.17 (2.12) (p = 0.04), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Trainees' efficiency in focused critical care echocardiography image acquisition improved quickly in the first 10 studies, yet, it could not match with the performance of experienced physicians after 20 focused critical care echocardiography studies. The focused critical care echocardiography assessment tool demonstrated evidence of validity and could discern changes in trainees' image acquisition performance with increasing experience.
Authors: Christina Luong; Zhibin Liao; Amir Abdi; Purang Abolmaesumi; Teresa S M Tsang; Hany Girgis; Robert Rohling; Kenneth Gin; John Jue; Darwin Yeung; Elena Szefer; Darby Thompson; Michael Yin-Cheung Tsang; Pui Kee Lee; Parvathy Nair Journal: Int J Cardiovasc Imaging Date: 2020-11-19 Impact factor: 2.357
Authors: Martin Altersberger; Philipp Pavelka; Alexander Sachs; Michael Weber; Michaela Wagner-Menghin; Helmut Prosch Journal: Ultrasound Int Open Date: 2019-11-07
Authors: Lauren E Gibson; Gabrielle A White-Dzuro; Patrick J Lindsay; Sheri M Berg; Edward A Bittner; Marvin G Chang Journal: J Intensive Care Date: 2020-12-11
Authors: Nilam J Soni; Robert Nathanson; Mark Andreae; Rahul Khosla; Karthik Vadamalai; Karthik Kode; Jeremy S Boyd; Charles M LoPresti; Dana Resop; Zahir Basrai; Jason Williams; Brian Bales; Harald Sauthoff; Erin Wetherbee; Elizabeth K Haro; Natalie Smith; Michael J Mader; Jacqueline Pugh; Erin P Finley; Christopher K Schott Journal: Ultrasound J Date: 2022-05-12