Teaching ultrasound guided femoral nerve block in the emergency department.

Abstract

Patients with hip fracture are often not given adequate analgesia in the Emergency Department. Ultrasound guidedfemoral nerve block is an effective option but it is not commonly used due to limited experience, inadequate training andinfrequent clinical exposure. We aimed to develop a workshop to bridge the current gap in the training of ultrasound guidedfemoral nerve block. A 3-hour workshop was developed in accordance to guidelines for education andtraining in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia. The components included an online learning module for pre-reading, as wellas team-based learning and simulation practice during the session. Evaluation of the participants was performed and feedbackof the course was collected. The workshop was conducted successfully for a total of 30 participants. All participantsachieved the minimum standard required. Across all domains, the mean scores for the workshop were more than 4.7 out of 5on the Likert scale. Participants were satisfied with the workshop and would recommend it to a colleague. Thisworkshop met its educational objectives and various principles of medical education were used effectively in the delivery ofthe content. Further research is necessary to demonstrate the impact of this educational effort on clinical practice and patientoutcomes.