Abstract
BackgroundPoint-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) training is expanding in undergraduate and graduate medical education, but lack of trained faculty is a major barrier. Two strategies that may help mitigate this obstacle are interprofessional education (IPE) and near-peer teaching. The objective of this study was to evaluate a POCUS course in which diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) students served as near-peer teachers for internal medicine residents (IMR) learning to perform abdominal sonography.MethodsPrior to the IPE workshop, DMS students participated in a train-the-trainer session to practice teaching and communication skills via case-based simulation. DMS students then coached first-year IMR to perform POCUS examinations of the kidney, bladder, and gallbladder on live models. A mixed-methods evaluation of the interprofessional workshop included an objective structured clinical exam (OSCE), course evaluation, and qualitative analysis of focus group interviews.ResultsTwenty-four of 24 (100%) IMR completed the OSCE, averaging 97.7/107 points (91.3%) (SD 5.2). Course evaluations from IMR and DMS students were globally positive. Twenty three of 24 residents (96%) and 6/6 DMS students (100%) participated in focus group interviews. Qualitative analysis identified themes related to the learning environment, scanning technique, and suggestions for improvement. IMR felt the interprofessional training fostered a positive learning environment and that the experience complimented traditional faculty-led workshops. Both groups noted the importance of establishing mutual understanding of expectations and suggested future workshops have more dedicated time for DMS student demonstration of scanning technique.ConclusionAn interprofessional, near-peer workshop was an effective strategy for teaching POCUS to IMR. This approach may allow broader adoption of POCUS in medical education, especially when faculty expertise is limited.
Highlights
Point-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) training is expanding in undergraduate and graduate medical education, but lack of trained faculty is a major barrier
internal medicine residents (IMR) and diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) student responses were positive for all questions, ranging from 4 to 4.8 on the 5-point Likert Scale
DMS students reported the workshop led to improved communication skills (4.7, SD 0.5), enhanced teaching skills (4.7, SD 0.5), and strengthened prior knowledge (4.5, SD 0.5)
Summary
Point-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) training is expanding in undergraduate and graduate medical education, but lack of trained faculty is a major barrier. The objective of this study was to evaluate a POCUS course in which diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) students served as near-peer teachers for internal medicine residents (IMR) learning to perform abdominal sonography. A survey of Canadian program directors demonstrated similar findings [7] Despite this growth, there remains significant training gaps in POCUS skills among internal medicine faculty and residents [7, 8]. Several national studies of educational leaders have identified lack of adequately trained faculty as a major barrier to POCUS curriculum expansion [6, 7, 9]
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