Faculty development in point of care ultrasound for internists

SONOSIM SUMMARY: In this pilot study, a cohort of internal medicine physicians were polled on their individual perceptions, current utilization, and comfort levels in regards to using point-of-care ultrasound in their medical practices. Participants then completed an ultrasound training course that included online didactic instruction using the SonoSim® Ultrasound Training Solution along with small-group scanning sessions. After the training, results showed “statistically significant improvements in faculty participants’ ability to interpret images (p<0.001), perceived understanding of the capabilities and limitations of POCUS (p=0.003), comfort using POCUS to make clinical decisions (p=0.003), and perceptions regarding the extent to which POCUS can improve patient care (p=0.026).” The study concludes that while internal medicine programs have been slow to adopt point-of-care ultrasonography (mainly due to lack of instructor expertise), point-of-care ultrasound can improve the acumen of internal medicine physicians and their patient’s medical outcomes. The authors end by recommending that more internal medicine departments embrace and integrate point-of-care ultrasonography into their programs.

Maw A, Jalali C, Jannat-Khah D, et al. Faculty development in point of care ultrasound for internists. Med Educ Online. 2017 Jan;21(1):1-4.

Abstract

Lack of general medicine faculty expertise is a likely contributor to the slow adoption of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) by internal medicine (IM) residency training programs. We developed a 10-week faculty development program, during which 15 faculty members participated in 2 hours and 10 hours of online didactic and hands-on training, respectively. Pre–post comparisons showed that there were statistically significant improvements in faculty participants’ ability to interpret images (p<0.001), perceived understanding of the capabilities and limitations of POCUS (p=0.003), comfort using POCUS to make clinical decisions (p=0.003), and perceptions regarding the extent to which POCUS can improve patient care (p=0.026). The next challenge for IM programs is to improve access to ultrasound machines and provide follow-up workshops to facilitate further development of skills and integration of POCUS into daily practice by general medicine faculty.

There is growing evidence that point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has the ability to augment the traditional physical examination and improve patient care by providing real-time, non-invasive, non-radiating, and low-cost imaging to help guide clinical decision-making. In response, medical schools around the country are incorporating ultrasound training into their anatomy and physical examination curricula with the expectation that this will better prepare students for their clinical training given the applications of POCUS continue to grow among multiple medical specialties. The Critical Care and Emergency Medicine communities were early adopters of this technology and several aspects of POCUS are now considered core competencies in both disciplines. In comparison, internal medicine (IM) has been a slow adopter of POCUS. Among the most important barriers to integration of POCUS into IM residency training is lack of faculty expertise.

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SonoSim Keywords: Ultrasound Education, Internal Medicine Ultrasound Training, Bedside Ultrasound, Point of Care Ultrasound