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Abstract
BackgroundPoint-of-care (POCUS) education is rapidly expanding within medical schools and internal medicine residency programs, but lack of trained faculty is a major barrier. While POCUS training can improve short-term outcomes, knowledge and skills rapidly decay without deliberate practice and feedback. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of focused cardiac ultrasound (FCU) by volunteer general internal medicine (GIM) faculty participating in a longitudinal POCUS curriculum.MethodsParticipants: Nine GIM clinician-educators participated in a 6-month POCUS curriculum. Faculty performance was compared to three cardiology fellows. Three diagnostic cardiac sonographers (DCS) were also evaluated and served as the gold standard. Evaluation: the primary outcome was a FCU efficiency score, calculated by dividing image quality score by exam duration. FCU exams were conducted on three standardized patients after completion of an introductory workshop, at 3 months, and at 6 months. Two blinded cardiologists scored the exams. Analysis: mean efficiency scores were compared using a linear mixed effects model, followed by pairwise comparisons using Tukey’s test.ResultsGIM faculty’s FCU efficiency scores were maintained over the 6-month period (2.2, SE 1.0 vs. 3.8, SE 1.0, p = 0.076). Their scores at each session were similar to cardiology fellows (p > 0.69), but inferior to DCSs (p < 0.0001).ConclusionGIM faculty participating in a POCUS curriculum maintained their FCU performance over 6 months with efficiency scores comparable to experienced cardiology fellows.
Highlights
Point-of-care (POCUS) education is rapidly expanding within medical schools and internal medicine residency programs, but lack of trained faculty is a major barrier
This study investigated the impact of a longitudinal Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum on general internal medicine (GIM) faculty’s performance of focused cardiac ultrasound (FCU)
GIM faculty efficiency scores were maintained over the 6-month study period
Summary
Point-of-care (POCUS) education is rapidly expanding within medical schools and internal medicine residency programs, but lack of trained faculty is a major barrier. POCUS training is rapidly expanding in undergraduate and graduate medical education. A survey of Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine members found that 25% of respondents reported formal POCUS curricula, with another 25% planning to implement programs within a year [5]. Educational leaders in these studies identified faculty development as a major barrier to broader adoption of POCUS training [1, 5]. One 10-week faculty program resulted in improved self-reported confidence and exam scores, but image acquisition skills were not assessed [6]
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